From Shanghai to the Hong Kong
by Old Gamer
Summary: TRANSFORMATION COMPANION STORY regarding Yuán Xiùlán...Traynor's non-canon love interest, from before events of ME1; how they met, fell in love, what they taught each other, and how decisions made then affected their lives in a post-synthesis galaxy. Rated strong 'M' for some content; generally a 'T'. Contains series spoilers. Bioware owns all, except OC characters and events.
1. Leaving Shanghai

_A/N: The Chinese/__English translations appear in brackets immediately after the Chinese words - these are non-spoken words and are generally in italics for translations of spoken Chinese, or non-italic for translations of thoughts in Chinese. There are a few words (generally curse words) that don't have translations. Non-verbal thoughts are in 'italics' with single quotes; incoming 'com' speech has double quotes.  
><em>**2014/09/19**_ - There's been a nice increase in readership since I reposted this tale. Chapter updates may arrive further apart than on Transformation (_id: 9663635_), as I'm attempting to keep that story rolling along. I want to take my time with this one, really explore what these two people come to mean to each other. If you read and enjoy, let me know by favoriting or following or leave a review. Thanks!_

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><p>*** YEAR 2178 CE, DECEMBER • EARTH, CHINA, CITY of SHANGHAI ***<p>

Twenty-one year old Alliance Serviceman 1st Class Yuán Xiùlán entered a small, dimly-lit restaurant just a short walk from the old Royal International Hotel on Xiuchuan Road in Shanghai. She had a few hours to kill until she needed to board the Alliance shuttle headed for Earth orbit; from orbit it would make a short, near-light speed jump to Luna Base, where she would begin an intense eighteen-month training program.

Taking a seat at the counter, she ordered shredded fish with snow cabbage in noodle soup and a glass of Xinjiang Black Beer to wash it all down. She hoped she wouldn't regret her choice of cuisine during the upcoming short trip, but dammit, she was going to have one last meal from her homeland before she left, particularly since she hadn't a clue when she'd be able to return.

A waitress brought the glass of beer, telling her the soup would be right out as she set the glass down. "Nǐ kàn qǐlái yǒudiǎn niánqīngle, hē píjiǔ," [你看起來有點年輕了，喝啤酒 _- You look a bit young to be drinking beer_] she commented. "Méishénme dàbùliǎo de," waving a hand at her freshly cleaned and pressed uniform. "Nǐ shì lǎo dé zúyǐ fúwù yú hǎijūn, nǐ kěyǐ xiǎngshòu yībēi píjiǔ." [沒什麼大不了的。你是老得足以服務於海軍，你可以享受一杯啤酒 _- No big deal. You're old enough to serve in the Navy, you can enjoy a [one] glass of beer._]

"Xièxiè," Xiùlán replied with a smile. "Wǒ yào qù yuèqiú. Wǒ bù zhīdào duōjiǔ. Wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng cóng wǒ de guójiā yì xiē shíwù zài wǒ líkāi zhīqián." [謝謝。我要去月球。我不知道多久。我只是想從我的國家一些食物在我離開之前。_- __Thank you. I am going to the moon. I do not know for how long. I just wanted some food from my country before I leave._]

She took a long pull from the glass, savoring its full-bodied taste as it rolled over her tongue and down her throat. Leaving Shanghai was going to be tough. It was the only home she had ever known until enlisting in the Alliance Navy on her eighteenth birthday. Her goal since going through basic training in Vancouver was to become captain of an Alliance starship; the intervening two years had been spent filled with classes learning everything she could about starship operation, including piloting, navigation, propulsion theory, personnel and resource management, along with practical demonstrations of her knowledge and skills.

She had also spent three miserably grueling months undergoing hostile environment assault training at Fort Charles Upham on Titan, where she had been proficient enough to earn a ribbon for unarmed hand-to-hand combat and one for excellence as a sniper. She had her mother to thank for her hand-to-hand skills…Mom was a master instructor in Chinese martial arts, having been her daughter's instructor since she was four or five years old.

The waitress brought her soup, set it down in front of her with a small bow and left so she could enjoy her meal. She hadn't realized how hungry she really was until the steaming bowl was sitting in front of her. She began eating, pausing only long enough after several bites of most excellent fish and cabbage to take a sip of beer or a bite from the sweet roll on the side.

The waitress returned as she was finishing the last bite of fish. "Rúhé wèi nǐ de tāng?" she asked. [ 如何為你的湯？_- How was your soup?_]

"Most excellent," was Xiùlán's enthusiastic response. "Zuì yōuxiù de! Duōshǎo qián wǒ qiàn de fàn ma?" [最優秀的！多少錢我欠的飯嗎？- _Most excellent! How much money do I owe for the meal?_]

"Èrshí xuéfēn, qǐng. Píjiǔ shì yīgè lǐwù," came the cheery response. [二十學分，請。啤酒是一個禮物。_- Twenty credits, please. The beer is a gift._]

Xiùlán smiled as she activated her omni-tool, entered the restaurant's ID code, the waitress's name and the credit amount (including a generous tip), then used her thumbprint to authenticate the transaction and closed her tool.

The transaction screen behind the counter illuminated for the waitress to inspect; her smile grew wider as she said, "Fēicháng gǎnxiè. Qǐng chóngxīn dēnglù, dāng nǐ zài zhège chéngshì!" [非常感謝。請重新登陸，當你在這個城市！_- Thank you very much. Please re-visit when you are in this city!_]

Xiùlán nodded as she said, "Xièxiè." then got up and went out into the cool, drizzling night. She still had a bit of time left, but decided to summon a taxi for the short trip to Pudong Airport, which had added a shuttle terminal fifteen years ago. The aircar arrived within a few minutes; grateful to be out of the rain, she entered her destination in the trip computer, paid the bill and settled in the back, alone with her thoughts. Her personal effects had been sent direct from the hotel and should already be in the Alliance holding area.

She was about to enter an experimental Alliance program, one that promised to transform her into a skilled operative in what had only been referred to as 'Black Ops'. It sounded interesting, and she hoped the knowledge and experience gained would be a 'plus' in her service record. She had committed to the whole program… eighteen months split between two Alliance marine bases. She also hoped to make some new friends during her time in the program.

Her father had been against it from the beginning. He had always expected her to follow in his footsteps, into a life on Earth as an accountant. Always a need for someone good with spreadsheets, even if all that meant these days was setting up the formulas in the boxes and watching the computer make all the calculations…no need for an abacus any more. Xiùlán's mother was not totally thrilled about her traveling around in space, but realized her daughter was her own person. She had learned all her lessons, excelled in every school she entered, and she could defend herself against attack. Still, her mom always had some fear in the back of her mind the Alliance military would not take good care of her.

Her musings were interrupted as the aircar slowed and descended in a curving approach to the Alliance dominated shuttle area; it came to a halt a quarter-meter from the pavement and waited for Xiùlán to leave. Once she was clear, the access panels closed; the vehicle spun on its axis and flew back out on the same path it had used to enter. She strode past several parked shuttles towards what appeared to be the terminal building; entering through the main doors, she moved to the information kiosk, coming to attention as she stopped in front of the operations chief behind the counter. "Serviceman 1st Class Yuán Xiùlán reporting for transport."

The chief looked at her with the jaded gaze of a man who'd been in the military so long there was nothing he had _not_ seen. "Travel orders?" he asked.

Xiùlán had a copy of the original papers, which she handed to the bored operations chief. Glancing up at the chronometer on the wall behind her, he grabbed a datapad and scrolled through several 'pages' until he found the confirmation code that matched her orders. "Date of birth?" he asked.

"57/08/15," she answered, enunciating each number individually, then added before he could prompt her, "Service number 8257-Papa-Victor-Golf-09186."

He set the datapad over the blank corner of her paper and keyed in his own ID; this resulted in the datapad 'stamping' the paper, actually laser engraving it, with that code.

"Okay, flight is ready for liftoff," he said. Using his thumb to indicate a door behind and to his left, he continued, "Flight line is through there. Your gear's already on board. Good luck, Serviceman. Safe flight."

"Thanks, Chief." Xiùlán grabbed her papers, quickly walked through the indicated door and made her way to the waiting shuttle. Two other people had just entered ahead of her when she reached the hatch. Handing her travel orders to the lieutenant standing beside the UT-47, she waited for him to look them over; as he handed them back, she came to attention and saluted.

Returning her salute, he asked, "First time off world, Yuán?"

'_Jīngrén! He actually knows my family name comes before my given name!_ ' she thought, then replied, "No Sir. Spent time on Titan after basic. Thought I'd been transferred to hell, actually."

He chuckled, nodding his head as he responded with, "You have my deepest sympathies. I went through that hell myself. Major Violitiran still in charge?"

"Major Sathegz Violitiran…I expect he is _still_ there, Lieutenant. I haven't met that many turians, but he certainly is _not_ the best example of turian friendliness and good will I've encountered. He always felt the Council betrayed the turians by intervening in the Relay 314 Incident, and spent every waking hour taking it out on every human within talons reach."

"Sounds like time hasn't mellowed him. Real shame. He has a hellova lot of knowledge regarding survival under brutal environmental conditions. Hope you at least managed a passing grade."

"I did," Xiùlán said, then smiled at the memory. "Surprised the old bird…he couldn't think of a valid excuse _not_ to pass me. Told me so himself."

"Good for you," the lieutenant responded with a grin. "Hope you do as well in whatever program you're headed for."

"Thank you, Sir." She saluted, then turned and entered the darkened shuttle. There was one empty seat on the back row, left center. She nodded to the young marine on one side and the woman in blues on the other as she took the empty seat. Other than slightly repositioning themselves as she sat down, they did not acknowledge her presence; fine with her…she didn't feel like making small-talk on this trip. Placing her hands palms up on top of her legs, she touched second finger to thumb on each and closed her eyes, intending to meditate for the next hour or so.

She heard the pilot enter, close the hatch and sit in the forward control area. She could hear him talking as he began powering up systems: inertial dampeners, navicomputers, turbo-fuel pumps, environmental pumps and impellers, ME generator…"Alliance control, shuttle flight golf-sierra zero-niner-two-five, ready for departure."

"_Sierra two-five, Alliance control: cleared for departure per flight plan. Squawk four-six-eight-two-two. Contact departure control at flight level three-zero-four-eight to confirm vector and velocity for orbital insertion_."

"Sierra two-five cleared for departure, squawk four-six-eight-two-two, contact departure at flight level three-zero-four-eight, acknowledged."

Xiùlán felt the decrease in the shuttle's mass as she heard and felt the four ventral thrusters light up, lifting the shuttle from the ground. The pilot rotated the forward engine pods downwards, firing them to tip the nose up as he lit the stern thrusters to maintain their relative position. Increasing the ME field, he brought the nose up further, pushed the stern-mounted thrusters to full power and sent the shuttle skywards.

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><p>*** YEAR 2178 CE, DECEMBER • EARTH, NORTH AMERICA, CITY of VANCOUVER, B.C. ***<p>

Twenty-year old Alliance Serviceman 3rd Class Samantha Traynor opened the door and stepped into the vestibule of 'The Farmer's Market' bar and grille. She had a few hours to kill until needing to catch the Alliance shuttle headed for Earth orbit; from orbit it would make a short, near-light-speed jump to Luna Base, where she would begin an intense eighteen-month training program. She removed her shouldered pack and took her overcoat off, which she shook a bit in order to remove some of the water droplets deposited by the light, steady drizzle falling from the mottled grey overcast. The weather outside reminded her of Oxford, where she'd spent the past four years studying physics, mathematics and computer science.

She had picked this tiny place because it was within walking distance of the Sunshine Inn (an ironic name to be sure, or maybe the original proprietor had been indulging in wishful thinking) where she had spent the past evening. Observing a sign reading, 'PLEASE BE SEATED', she grabbed her pack and ventured into the small dining area, easing past the few people having an early breakfast, to an empty table in the rear corner of the room. A young man, thin face scarred by acne, approached with a menu, which he laid on the table as he asked, "Would you like some water?"

"Actually, I'd like a cup of tea, please." He nodded and left her to peruse the menu.

While she waited she opened her omni-tool and browsed the extranet. There was some news regarding Alliance efforts to eliminate the pirates based on the moon of Torfan. One of the articles ran under the headline, '_Butcher of Torfan or Alliance Hero? _', being an account of a young Alliance Navy lieutenant's actions on that moon and her single-minded efforts to eliminate every batarian there; there were interviews of Alliance personnel and from the very few batarian survivors.

The young man returned within five minutes and set a cup in a saucer on the table, along with a small porcelain teapot emitting a tantalizing scent of freshly brewed tea. "Ready to order?"

"Yes. I'd like a three-egg cheddar cheese omelet with hash browns and toast, plus a side of bacon," she replied as she poured the steaming beverage into her cup.

He smiled as he retrieved the menu and said, "Be back shortly."

Returning to the news article, she could see that the batarians were predictably united in their condemnation of the young lieutenant's actions, claiming she had even killed people that had surrendered. The few Alliance personnel interviewed all expressed skepticism at the batarian's allegations of wholesale slaughter by one person, and also noted that the lieutenant's entire unit had been almost entirely wiped out. One of the Alliance brass mentioned the young lieutenant's family had been murdered by pirates during a raid on her home colony of Mindoir. The only interview Samantha did not see was from the subject of the article. Apparently, asking her opinion might have lent some balance to an article totally biased in favor of the batarian 'victims', even though every last one of them had been a pirate.

The young man brought her breakfast and carefully set a large platter in front of her as she closed her omni with a sigh. "Would you like me to bring anything else, ma'am?"

"A bottle of ketchup?" she asked. The omelet looked and smelled wonderful. She slathered butter on one piece of toast, took a bite and followed it with a forkful of eggs and cheese. Delicious! Her waiter brought the ketchup, which she applied generously to the perfectly done, golden and crispy hash browns. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the food was sitting in front of her. Taking a sip from her tea cup, she continued to transfer the food from her plate to her stomach, until there was only a few crumbs left.

The young man reappeared as she was finishing the last of her tea. "Was everything okay?"

"Wonderful," she replied. "I probably won't need anything to eat until dinnertime. How much do I owe you?"

She was handed a tablet with the itemized bill displayed and totaled; she opened her omni-tool, entered a secure transfer of credits to the restaurant, along with a gratuity for the young server, then closed her omni and returned the tablet. "Thank you. Stay dry…it's supposed to be like this all day," he said as he waved in the general direction of the front door.

Traynor shrugged her overcoat on and shouldered her pack; she pulled the hood over her head as she stepped into the misty drizzle of a Vancouver morning. The Alliance flight field, itself on the site of an old hovercraft base, was just south of the old international airport on Sea Island. Her personal effects had been sent direct from the hotel and should already be in the Alliance holding area.

The field was too far to walk from her current location; she opened her omni-tool and summoned an air taxi, which arrived within five minutes. Once she entered her destination and payment, the vehicle lifted and began moving as soon as she was inside with the hatch closed.

As the air taxi arced up and over the FraserRiver delta on its northward trajectory, Samantha thought about the weeks she had spent in Alliance basic training. The physical conditioning had not been as tough as many had led her to believe, but neither was it a 'walk in the park'. During her fitness training, her instructors discovered she possessed a real talent for close in hand-to-hand combat…she just needed an instructor willing to mold her into a human weapon. She'd impressed another instructor on the gunnery range with her skills for accurately firing high-powered sniper rifles and heavy pistols.

There was also time spent learning the basics of quantum communications, with much more to learn…hell, she'd barely scratched the surface of what she needed to know to be a competent… no, _more_ than competent… communications, intelligence and operations specialist. The ever so slight jolt through the chassis as the air car touched down interrupted her reverie. Grabbing her pack, she stepped out into the cool, damp Vancouver morning.

A Marine corporal greeted her at the gate as the air taxi lifted, pivoted and climbed away from the field. "I.D., please," he requested.

Traynor held her Alliance issued badge out for his inspection, which he scanned through his omni-tool; it trilled once, indicating approval. "Okay Ma'am, you're good to go. Follow the orange paint line into the building and check in with the chief. She'll direct you to your departure gate."

"Thanks Corporal." She retrieved her badge and walked the orange line past several parked shuttlecraft into the squat, featureless building. Entering through the main door, she walked up to the service chief behind the counter and held out her badge and travel orders. "Serviceman 3rd Class Samantha Traynor reporting for transport."

Service Chief Jaclyn Walsh looked up from her terminal and held out her hand. "How's it going, Traynor?" Walsh took the orders and badge; placing the badge under the optical reader beside her terminal, she compared the results with the info she'd called up on the terminal. "Service number and DOB?"

"8256-DH-7968, 58/03/21, Ma'am," Traynor responded.

Chief Walsh made several additional entries to the information form displayed in front of her; she paused for a moment, then continued after a prompting tone from the terminal. "Okay," She held up her paperwork and badge. "Here's your ID and travel orders. Your ride is through that passage…," here she indicated a hallway to her left, "…lift off in seventy-three minutes. The rest of your gear is already loaded. Good luck, Serviceman Traynor. Have a safe flight"

"Thanks, Chief," Traynor replied as she took her travel orders and badge. Reshouldering her pack, she turned to her right and entered the short hallway leading to the flightline. Taking a quick look outside when she reached the end of the passageway, …'_umph. Still drizzling..._,' she peeked through the door beside her and discovered what appeared to be a rather small lounge area, devoid of life. She decided to stay dry by waiting in there for half-an-hour or so.

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><p>*** ALLIANCE LUNA BASE • ARRIVAL AREA ***<p>

Xiùlán claimed her gear bags in the reception area as she looked up at the status display. She found her name near the bottom of the list of incoming trainees, along with her room assignment. Entering the information into her omni-tool resulted in a displayed schematic of the facility with a highlighted path to her assigned quarters. She looked around behind her and found the entrance to the hallway; picking up her gear, she started to turn, only to collide with another trainee walking in the opposite direction while looking over her shoulder.

"I am so sorry," Xiùlán stammered as she helped the trainee to her feet. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?"

"Totally my fault, Serviceman…?" the trainee started to explain. "Sorry, my name is Traynor… Serviceman 3rd Class Samantha Traynor."

"Yuán Xiùlán…Serviceman First Class," Xiùlán said, offering her hand and smiling.

"Xiùlán? Chinese? Then that's your given name, right?...family name Yuán?" Samantha asked.

"Most occidental people are not aware of that…Samantha; fewer still can correctly pronounce my name. You honor me," Xiùlán replied with a bow.

"Spent a summer in Shanghai my second year of college…picked up a few words, learned my way around a bit. My friends call me 'Sam'," she replied with a smile and bow of her own.

"Shanghai's my home. Am I a friend, then…Sam? Just like that?" Xiùlán asked.

"I like you, Yuán Xiùlán," Traynor replied with a shy smile. "Let's get together for…lunch…? dinner? See you soon." With that, she shouldered her pack, turned on her heel and headed for her quarters.

As Xiùlán watched Traynor stride away, she had a hunch the young woman would soon become an important part…an integral part…of her future in the Alliance. Picking up her own gear, she walked to her quarters as she thought about the seemingly random encounter.

* * *

><p>*** LIVE FIRE TRAINING COURSE CHARLIE-SEVEN ***<br>* 0940 - 1305 *

Yuán didn't think her body could hurt any more after the previous day's training session. Her legs felt leaden, her lower back was on fire, her arms were numb. Yet here she was, running and dodging live-fire (low-impact ammo, to be sure, but still enough to cause injuries). Today's objective was to take out a sniper's nest somewhere in the area ahead. Complicating the exercise? Another recruit would also be attempting to neutralize the hidden sniper; whomever got there first would then have to defend themself from the other recruit.

Moving from one bit of miserably insubstantial cover to the next, she continued to gain ground until she stopped behind an outcropping a bit bigger than those she'd been ducking behind previously. Her back hard against the rough surface, she resorted to an ancient observation technique… pulling a small mirror mounted on a telescopic shaft from her pack, she used it to peek past her cover. She saw the laser targeting beam a split-second before the mirror was sent flying from her hand by a minute piece of metal traveling at a small fraction of light speed. '_Gǒu shǐ! Zhè shānghàile! _ she thought as she grabbed her wrist. '_Hǎo dōngxī, zhè bùshì wǒ de tóu zài nàlǐ! _[狗屎！這傷害了！- Shit! That hurts! 好東西，這不是我的頭在那裡！ - Good thing that wasn't my head out there!]

A quick inspection confirmed her gauntlet had taken the hit. A puncture to her suit would be a potentially fatal error, not to mention a DNC for today's session. Reaching around to the belt over her shoulder, she grabbed one of her Mark 14 grenades, a high explosive device that she hoped would distract the unseen sniper long enough for her to gain a bit more ground. She armed it, then backed away from her cover and threw the device past the outcropping on its right side.

The lighter lunar gravity helped loft it several meters further than she could have otherwise achieved; she began moving towards her left as she remotely detonated the Mark 14. The blast lit the terrain in an impressive manner, resulting in several shots fired just to the right of where she'd been hiding. Staying low, she ran to a larger outcropping sixteen or so meters distant.

From this new vantage point she had a clear view of the opening in the rocks from which the hidden sniper was firing. Yuán could not see the sniper or rifle from this location, but expected the unseen shooter was scanning the area around her with a motion detector. She armed another Mark 14, again setting it for remote detonation. Moving to her left to keep as much of the rock face as possible between herself and the shooter, she stood, stepped to her right and threw the grenade in one smooth movement, then stepped back to her left a split-second before the bullet whizzed past her right side. The grenade flew in an arc towards the breach in the rock face; she detonated it just as it dropped into the opening. The explosion was accompanied by the high-pitched squeal of several hundred thousand credits worth of Alliance VI tech being shredded into scrap.

Xiùlán carefully moved towards the smoking aperture, crouching and staying in cover. Once under the opening, she rechecked that her hardsuit computer was still recording everything she heard and saw, then raised her omni-tool in camera mode to risk a quick look inside. Seeing nothing but smoke and scrap metal, she pulled her shotgun, set her camouflage generator to 100% and jumped into the recess. Visually confirming there were no other targets, Xiùlán turned back towards the opening only to be kicked backwards half a meter and to the ground by a bullet hitting her square in the center of her ceramic chest plate. Two more rounds zipped past overhead as she lay on her back, gasping for breath as she attempted to regain control of her diaphragm. '_Xī, Xiùlán, Xī!' _ She rolled over and got to her hands and knees as a mocking voice came over her comlink.

"_Hey Chop Stick! How's yer chest feel? Ya gonna need me to massage yer tits?_" followed by a braying laugh that sounded like a donkey.

'_Gǒu shǐ! Zhēn de ma? Zài 44 shìjì de wǒ bèihòu de wénmíng, zhè jiùshì wǒ? Yīgè tā mā de kuàizi!?' _[狗屎！真的嗎？在我身後的44世紀的文明，這是我嗎？一個他媽的筷子 - Dog feces! Really? In the 44 century civilization behind me, this is me? A fucking chopstick(s)!?] She replied over the comm, "In your dreams, asshole!" Xiùlán recognized the owner of the voice, a self-righteous, bigoted, alien hating human from the lower mid-west section of the North American continent. Joesiar went out of his way to put down and verbally abuse anyone that looked a bit different; female recruits were especially targeted for insults, belittling and sexual innuendo. Unfortunately for everyone on the receiving end, Joesiar never seemed to get caught. Rumor was he had an uncle high up in the chain of Alliance brass.

She used her omni-tool to plot the trajectories back to their source. Joesiar was still out there, probably in the same spot, waiting for her to show herself. Lazy bastard had parked himself in good cover and waited for her to take out the sniper. She had only a heavy pistol and a shotgun; neither would accurately reach him from here. Finally able to breathe normally, Xiùlán checked her chest plate…the round that hit her was a low-power non-enhanced alloy pellet. No damage to the plate, but she knew she'd have an ugly purple bruise in the middle of her chest by tonight. She glanced around at the wreckage caused by her grenade and spotted it…the sniper rifle being used by the VI she'd destroyed. She crawled over to it, picked it up, '_Gǒu niáng yǎng de zhòng dá yī dūn!'_ [狗娘養的重達一噸 - Son of a bitch weighs a tonne!] and inspected it, sighting down the barrel and checking the targeting computer in the receiver; amazingly, it appeared totally undamaged, and still had a good heat-sink.

Moving to the extreme left side of the opening, she risked a quick look around the protective rock wall. Her reward was a flash as Joesiar fired his rifle; the round whizzed past and smacked the wall behind her. It was going to take a bit of subterfuge to get out of _this_ hole. She plotted the last round back to its source…all had originated from the same location, some 450 meters distant. She pulled the rifle's logic board and plugged it into her omni-tool, reset the location for the rifle's auto-aim function, then replaced the board in its receptacle on the gun. Now for the tricky part. Staying below the opening, she carefully hefted the long gun up and rested the barrel on the edge of the opening, pointing it as close as she could guess at the spot where Joesiar was hiding.

_"Hey Chop Stick! Ya give up yet? I can keep yer yeller ass pinned in there rest of the day!"_ He emphasized his point with another round, which hit the back wall in virtually the same spot as all the rest.

The instant his round hit she fired the long gun, then moving smoothly, she whirled about, placed the cheek of her helmet hard against the receiver, sighted down the barrel, fired a second round and ducked all in one rapid motion. The resulting howl of pain in her com sounded genuine, so she risked a quick look over the edge. Joesiar had broke cover and was dancing around (actually jumping about in the low gravity) as he held his right shoulder with his left hand. Xiùlán decided to teach the bastard a real lesson; she sighted down the barrel of the long gun, exhaled softly and fired, hitting him in the calf of his right leg as he danced around; he hollered anew as he dropped like a stone. _"Dammit, Chop Stick! Now yer jus' playen' dirty!"_

Xiùlán leaped out of the hole in the rock wall; carrying the heavy long gun in her left hand, she pulled her heavy pistol while trotting the 450 meters to Joesiar's location. Despite the low gravity of the lunar surface, it took her close to a minute to reach him where he lay in the dirt. Sticking the pistol's barrel against his faceplate, she hissed, "Chop Stick? _Really?_ Just for your information, my ass is _not_ yellow, not that I'm going to prove it by showing it to the likes of you!"

"Com'on, _You ann_. 'Chop stick' is easier to pronounce than yer name," Joesiar whined. "Gimme a hand here, will ya? My suit's leaking. How in 'ell didja get your hands on a long gun, anyways?"

She pulled a repair kit from a utility pocket on her thigh. "It belonged to the VI that was firing at me. I didn't notice you taking any fire…hiding here until someone else got the job done for you, huh? Typical. Nǐ shì yīgè lǎnduò de húndàn, Joesiar [你是一個懶惰的混蛋 _- __You are a lazy bastard __Joesiar_]…too lazy to learn how to pronounce my name correctly! Just say 'shoo-lan'…it's my given name. Yuán is my family name, gǒu shǐ yīyàng de tóunǎo." [狗屎一樣的頭腦 _- dog feces for brains_]

"Ya see, there y'all go again, speaking chinee on me," he complained. "What in 'ell did you just call me, Chop stick?"

"Gǒu shǐ yīyàng de tóunǎo? That's '_dog shit for brains _'. Sounds meaner in Mandarin, don't it? Now hold still so I can fix this hole." Joesiar stopped moving about; more importantly, he quit talking. Yuán patched the puncture in the leg of his suit, then pushed him over to take a look at his shoulder. "No hole here…your lucky day. Bet that shoulder will need some therapy when you get back to the barracks."

"Least I won't have a big ol' purple bruise 'tween my tits in the morning," he smirked. "On you, it'll probably be closer to a hideous green, since blue and yeller make green, right?" The braying of a donkey back on Earth had nothing on the sounds coming out of Joesiar.

Xiùlán picked up his weapons and said, "We're done here, Joesiar. Head back to the barracks. And just so you know, I _will_ be reporting you for your ethnic slurs and misogynistic attitude."

"It'll be yer word against mine, _chinker _bell," he sneered, "and I bet your fuckin' word ain't gonna buy you shit."

Xiùlán put a boot on his shoulder and added a bit of weight, prompting him to start thrashing and hollering in pain. "I have our conversations recorded, Joesiar, right down to your last comment about me," she said in a voice full of menace. "Your Alliance career is done. Brass has no tolerance for racial bigots. Neither do I." Lifting her foot, she finished with, "Now get your miserable little ass up and move while you still can." She waited until he got to his feet and started limping towards the shelters before following after him. It was going to be a long walk, and she hurt all over.

* * *

><p>*** RECRUIT BARRACKS, FEMALE • 1645 - 1830 ***<p>

Xiùlán thanked the medic as she pulled a short-sleeved sweatshirt over her bare torso. He'd inspected the impact site on her chest and found nothing amiss under the skin - just some deep bruising right over the bottom of her sternum, which explained why she'd had the wind knocked out of her so badly. The visible bruise had become a real beauty, centered below her breasts; it still hurt to take a deep breath; the medic had given her seven days off from physically demanding training; classroom time would give her a chance to heal.

She returned to her room, thinking nothing was more inviting than to lie down in her bed for a bit, but decided to hit the showers first, let some warm water wash away a bit of the aching tiredness she felt. She got undressed, put on a short silk robe (a present from her mom) and slipped on a pair of 'shower sandals'. Grabbing a wash cloth, a couple of large towels, shampoo and body wash, she removed the leather tie keeping her long hair in a pony tail, then left for the women's lav.

The lavatory was laid out in a standard pattern: an interior partition was mounted just inside the door, blocking the view straight into the dressing/shower area on the right and the toilets on the left. There were wire mesh lockers set just outside the showers, along with basins and mirrors and a low bench on which to sit for dressing or undressing. Xiùlán chose an empty locker, pulled off her robe and hung it and her towels within. Taking her washcloth, body wash and shampoo into the shower, she took no real notice of the tanned recruit with outstretched arms, palms on the wall in front of her as she stood motionless under a showerhead, doing exactly what Xiùlán had come here to do. Another recruit, just finishing her shower, told the tanned recruit she was leaving. "Bye, Heather," came the response. Heather nodded to Xiùlán as she walked out towards the locker area.

Turning on the water next to her unknown companion, she adjusted the temperature to 'very warm' and slipped into the stream cascading from the 'waterfall' shower head. Ducking her head into the water, she allowed it to completely soak her hair. Grabbing the length right behind her neck, she pulled it around over her left shoulder and began applying shampoo as she enjoyed the spray of water on her back.

"Don't think I've ever seen _anyone_ with hair that long," came a vaguely familiar voice. "Must take a lot of effort to keep it lookin' so pretty.

Xiùlán glanced to the right at the young woman as she continued working the shampoo into her hair. "Alliance doesn't require it to be short. Worn it long all my life," she responded, mentally preparing for the argument she felt sure was about to ensue.

"It's beautiful. I wouldn't cut it either," came the voice, then, "Xiùlán? Is that…it _is_ you! Xiùlán! I'm so happy to see…well, you…um, all of you, as it turns out."

Xiùlán looked at the young woman again…really looked at her. Beautiful complexion, dark all over like a deep tan, only no light colored skin on her boobs or butt. It finally dawned on her where she'd seen this woman before. "Traynor? Samantha Traynor? Damn, I didn't recognize you…only seeing your face once, it never dawned on me you were so…so…"

"…brown all over?" Sam finished for her. "My mum's from India…Pop's a Brit…er, British. Got my mum's skin tone, my Pop's 'tude. Bad combination, I'm told." Sam ducked back under the shower to rinse her hair and torso of shampoo and soap.

"I wouldn't call it 'brown'…more like a warm olive. As for me, I've been told I have a yellow ass." Twisting her backside towards Traynor, Xiùlán asked with a grin, "See any yellow back there?"

_'Damn! That's a really sweet ass!_' Traynor thought as she answered, "Nope. Lighter than mine, but certainly not yellow. Same color as the rest of you, actually. Who said you have a yellow ass? Wait, wouldn't be a sawed-off little bastard with pale-blue eyes, would it? Joesiar!?"

"The very same," came the reply. Xiùlán had finished lathering her hair; flipping it around behind her, she turned back around to face Traynor as she applied her jasmine-scented body wash and began soaping herself. She gingerly washed her chest and said, 'This is a present…" she lifted her breasts upwards with her forearm while gently washing the spreading bruise, "…from the miserable little prick. Hit my ceramic plate with a sniper round during live-fire… knocked the wind outa me, put me on my back for a few. Offered to massage my tits for me…as if!" she finished with a smirk.

Traynor whistled in appreciation. "That's a serious bruise, Xiùlán. Must be sore."_ 'I'd be happy to massage you chest anytime'_ came the unbidden thought. _'Shit, Traynor. Quit thinking about that! She's probably straight_.' "Have you seen the doc?"

Xiùlán was bent over; she washed her legs and feet before finishing by gently washing up between her legs. "Just a while ago," came the answer. "He says there's no hidden damage, but I'll be doing classroom work for the next week or so. It'll give me time to file a complaint with the AG's office." She stood and rinsed her body front and back, then grabbed her hair and rinsed it thoroughly by encircling it with her fingers and running them down the length of it several times. When all the soap was gone, she turned the water off with a sigh, grabbed her stuff and walked over to her locker for a towel.

Traynor followed suit, drying herself while standing beside Xiùlán as she toweled herself off.

"You seriously think you can win against Joesiar?" Traynor asked. "He has protection…friends in high places. I know…I've complained about him myself. He's a damned little racist. 'If it ain't white, it ain't right' is his motto. Thinks I should be back on my colony world, working in the fields, milking cows, making babies for some farmer." Her expression had changed to one of intense dislike, her dark eyes smoldering with barely contained hatred.

Xiùlán studied Traynor for a minute as she finished toweling off and began using the second towel for her hair. "Where are you from, Samantha?"

"Horizon, Iera System. And it's Sam to you…or maybe…" she added with that shy smile Xiùlán had seen when they first met, "…Sammy. Anyway, Horizon…beautiful world. Parents used to live in London back on Earth, but prefer life on a colony world…fewer restrictions. That's where I was born." She wrapped the towel around her shoulders and sat on the bench.

"Sounds like you don't want to get married or have any children…?" Xiùlán stood, grabbed her robe, shrugged into its silken embrace then pulled her hair out from under, spreading it with her hands to fall across the back of her robe.

"Children? Not interested, at least, not in the traditional way. Marriage? I'd like that, I think, if I could find the right…," she looked straight into Xiùlán's eyes, as if challenging her, "…woman. I'm a lesbian, Xiùlán. Not something I share with just anyone…only people I trust…people I'm comfortable with…like you."_ 'Shit! You're in for the whole shootin' match now, Traynor!' _ Her eyes anxiously searched Xiùlán's face for…what? Disgust? Rejection?

Xiùlán looked at Sam as if seeing her for the first time. "Samantha…Sam. Just so I understand, you…," she paused as she sat on the bench next to Traynor. "...you saying you're interested in…me…as a partner?"

"I'm sorry, Xiùlán. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, to…" fingertips gently touched her lips, interrupting her apologies.

"I am…flattered, Sam. I never thought of you…in…_that_ way." Xiùlán stood and grabbed Sam's robe from her locker. Motioning for her to stand, Xiùlán slid the robe onto her arms from behind, then turned her around with a hand on her shoulder. Sam met her eyes, her expression neutral, waiting to see what Xiùlán would do.

Xiùlán grabbed the collar of Sam's robe with a hand on either side of her neck. "I need to think about this, Miss Traynor. Give me…" she paused as she slid her hands down the collar, gently pulling the terrycloth together as her hands brushed Sam's breasts and stopped at her navel. "…a bit of time to think. I have never given…myself…to anyone, Sam. I'm a virgin…" She reached around Sam's waist and brought the ends of her sash together in front, which she gently tied after overlapping the edges of her robe. "…and certainly never expected anything like this. Give me a bit of time to think." She pulled Sam towards her, kissed her on the forehead, grabbed her towels and bath supplies and left.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I've been working on this back story for a while, trying to come up with enough stuff to justify submission on the site. I decided to tell it from Xiùlán's viewpoint, as the Cartagena Station adventure was told in dream sequence/flashback, mostly from Traynor's viewpoint starting with Chapter 20 of 'Transformation'. There will be more soon, and I will be adding to 'Transformation' as well. I expect I've really added to my workload, which is why I took so long to place this story. As stated above, likes and follows are appreciated. Reviews are **very** much appreciated._ - GT


	2. Getting to Know You

_There's no debt. There never has been. We are friends_ - Davis Bunn, _Lion of Babylon_

* * *

><p>*** ALLIANCE LUNA BASE • 7901/10 *****  
><strong>

Yuán Xiùlán left her morning class with a headache centered at the back of her head, along with a knot between her shoulder blades. She guessed it was a result of late night studying and an empty stomach…her early morning tea and toast was but a distant memory. Once in her quarters, she relieved her bladder before downing a couple of aspirin with a portion of a bottle of water. She had been thinking about Samantha Traynor since their 'collision' on the day of her arrival here, their brief conversation yesterday, and off and on all morning. Remembering Sam's request that they get together for lunch or dinner prompted her to activate her omni-tool; she looked for and found Traynor's extranet address, sent a text note asking Sam to join her for lunch and waited to see if she'd receive a response.

Xiùlán never had an interest in developing a relationship with anyone, male or female, since joining the Alliance, but especially not with a man. The few men she had dated in the past had always…_always_…seemed interested in nothing more than discovering how fast they could remove her shirt and bra before getting into her pants, as if there was not enough blood in their bodies to support their brains higher cognitive functions while simultaneously stiffening their cocks. She counted herself fortunate she'd never needed to say anything more than a firm 'NO!' when any of them _had_ tried to unfasten her top...just _what_ in hell was it _with_ males and their never ending fascination with female breasts?

As there always seemed to be other things needing her attention, be it studies, physical training, or just quiet time to meditate alone, she had virtually quit saying 'yes' to the numerous invitations to dinner, lunch, breakfast, vids or drinks at the various clubs near whichever base at which she happened to be stationed, even when urged on by some of the friends in her unit. She had always found occasional masturbation to be all she needed to keep her libido in check. And now, there was Samantha…Sam…Sammy. Funny. She had never envisioned becoming interested in a woman as anything but a friend. Certainly not a…what?...companion?...`love interest?..., nor had another woman ever expressed any interest in her. Thinking about Sam as something more gave her warm sensations…because she was lonely? A bit of an 'outsider'? Maybe both…?

The tingling on Xiùlán's wrist indicated an incoming text. She opened her omni-tool to find a reply from Sam: _'lookin fwrd to it! On my way…'_ Xiùlán closed the tool, grabbed her shoulder bag and headed for the mess hall.

* * *

><p>*** MESS HALL ***<p>

Xiùlán still had two and a half hours before her afternoon class in 'Advanced Omni-tool Techniques', something that sounded like an easy 'ace'; she suspected it would be anything _but_ easy, as she and her classmates would be receiving new state-of-the-art omni-tools, highly classified new tech from Serrice Council that promised better functionality and security. There was even a rumor the damn things could be turned into weapons with just a thought! Probably just wishful thinking. She had an appointment at the AG's office before class, one reason she'd decided to have lunch early today. She gingerly touched her chest as she walked, wincing as she inadvertently pressed a bit too hard. Thanks to Joesiar, it still hurt like bloody hell to take a deep breath, though not as bad as last night…even hurt to reach over her head to put on a sports bra or shirt.

Visible bruise had spread up and across her chest, so even the bottom edge of her bra was an irritant. She quickly put Joesiar out of her mind; her headache had virtually disappeared…no need for it to return because of _that_ miserable little Hùn zhàng [混帳 - _bastard_].

She entered the student's mess hall, noting its layout and appearance looked all too reminiscent of her secondary school cafeteria back home. She spotted Sam, just taking a seat at a table in a quiet corner of the room. Picking up a tray and utensils, she moved down the food line; it had surprised her to discover Chinese dishes were a regular part of the cuisine here. Xiùlán was not one to waste an opportunity to eat food that reminded her of home…today she chose the Shanghai style stir-fried rice cake. It was made without the pork, but had plenty of cabbage, bamboo shoots, spinach, bean sprouts and carrots, all mixed with a dark soy sauce. She thought '_Zhè kàn shàngqù hào chī!'_ [這看上去好吃！- It looks delicious!] as she added some thick sliced bread and a water bottle, then headed across the room to sit with Sam.

"Hi, Xiùlán! How are you?" Traynor gave Yuán a big smile as she sat down across from her, then asked, "Why not sit beside me?"

"Easier to eat and chat when we're face-to-face," Xiùlán replied. "Salad and soup? Looks tasty."

"Yep. Not sure what you're having, but it smells wonderful. Is that soy sauce?"

"It is…Shanghai style stir-fried rice cake," she replied as she dug a pair of elaborately decorated black lacquered bamboo chop sticks from her shoulder pack.

"Custom chop sticks? Damn, Xiùlán…you came prepared to do battle," Traynor snarked.

Xiùlán returned the grin as she started eating. "Right tools for the job," she snarked right back.

They spent the next twenty-five minutes or so chatting about this and that, leisurely enjoying their food and each other's company in equal parts. Xiùlán finished her rice cake by wiping the plate with the last of her bread and popping it in her mouth. "Gāisǐ de, that was good. Think I can actually hold out until dinner now." Dampening her napkin with water from the bottle, she discretely wiped her chop sticks clean, then returned them to her pack as she continued, "It's nice to have someone to talk to without worrying about 'afterwards', Sam. Haven't had any close friends since basic…stopped accepting invitations from guys for all the obvious reasons."

Traynor nodded as she replied, "I know what you mean. In their defense, if I were a guy, I would be hitting on you for sure, Xiùlán. You are absolutely beautiful."

Xiùlán could feel herself blushing. "Haven't heard that from anyone 'cept my parents, Sam… certainly not from another woman."

"I'm serious, Xiùlán," Samantha said quietly. "I don't pass out complements casually…anyone that cannot see your beauty is simply blind, in my opinion."'_…and your body is to die for!' _came the unbidden thought._ '…there I go again…she said she's still a virgin…loved the way she used her arm, pushing her boobs up to show me her bruised chest…oh, and those legs!…I know they end at her bum, but damn if they don't look like they go all the way to her neck!…shit! shit! shit!…quit dreamin' 'bout her, Sam…you can't have her!'_

Sam's eyes were open, unfocused, but Xiùlán could see they were looking in the direction of her own chest. "Sam!"

Traynor blinked as her thoughts evaporated. "Huh?"

"I _said _ 'we need to go'. I have an appointment before my next class. Don't you have a class as well?

Samantha thought for a second before answering. "Yeah, I have a class in hacking alien comm systems. Got my new omni-tool this morning. Damn thing is really amazing! Dinner later?"

"Of course. We can kick back, have a beer or two." Xiùlán grabbed tray and shoulder pack as she stood. "I'll text you when I'm done with class…ought to be about 1745 or so. Meet at your quarters?"

"Sounds good," Traynor said with a grin. _'…might be able to get to know you better in private.'_

* * *

><p>*** OFFICE OF THE ADVOCATE GENERAL ***<p>

'_Serviceman 1st Class Yuán Xiùlán. Please report to office twenty-two delta.'_ Xiùlán thought, _'Guānyú tā mā de shíjiān!_ [關於他媽的時間！_- _about fucking time!] _How much more time would I have had to wait _without_ an appointment?'_ as she grabbed her shoulder pack and marched down the hall to the indicated office. A balding man, wearing old-fashioned, gold-rimmed glasses, stood to greet her as she entered. "Serviceman Xiùlán," he said, extending his hand.

"Actually, family name is Yuán…Serviceman Yuán." She grabbed his hand, a pudgy mass of cold, squishy flesh with fat fingers, seemingly devoid of life. _'Wǒ xiànzài yào xǐ wǒ de shǒu!' _[我現在要洗我的手 - I now want to wash my hands] she thought silently.

"Sorry, Ma'am. My mistake." Looking at one of a number of datapads on his desk, he said, "So, you're here to file a complaint about…" he adjusted his glasses as he studied the datapad, "…Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar, is that correct?"

"Yes Sir. Actually, several complaints."

"All are related to an incident or incidents on live-fire range Charlie-Seven, are they not? I know what the report says, Yuán. Why don't you tell me what happened."

Xiùlán spent the next ten minutes relating Joesiar's racist and misogynist comments and her reactions.

"These are pretty serious charges, Serviceman. What proof do have of these allegations?"

She pulled an OSD from a thigh pocket and set it on the desk. Keeping a fingertip in the middle of the disk, she leaned forward as she said, "This is an audio/vid of the live-fire exercise. It's a copy. There are others, ready to be shipped in unmarked packages, should this one go missing."

"Just what the hell are you suggesting, Serviceman?" The man was getting a bit red in the face.

Xiùlán slipped on her best 'innocent me' look as she replied, "Nothing. I'm suggesting nothing, Sir. However," her voice took on an edge as the innocent mask slipped just a bit; it would have frightened most anyone possessing _any_ common sense. "Serviceman Joesiar has a highly placed uncle…a Major General Bradley Joesiar. It seems the Major General always finds out what trouble his nephew has gotten up to and gets him cleared of whatever charges are brought against him."

The tone of Xiùlán's voice went cold as the 'innocent' mask was instantly exchanged for a chiseled 'takes no effing prisoners' look. "I intend to see that changed. I don't like racists. I don't like misogynists. Joesiar is both. He also hates aliens. The Alliance doesn't need his brand of white human supremacy." Xiùlán produced a datapad of her own. "Now, I need _your_ name and a thumb print on this receipt."

"Now listen here, Serviceman Yuán. I'm not sure I care for your attitude."

"My goddamned 'attitude' is the least of your worries right now, mister. Did I mention I don't like cover-ups? Name and thumb print, or I'm going right on up the brass chain."

'Balding glasses' took a long, hard look at her over the rims of his glasses. Her dark eyes were intent, mouth set in a tight line. He could feel danger radiating from this woman, as if she didn't suffer fools gladly. He sighed as he concluded acceding to her 'request' cost him nothing, nodded once and initialed…, "Legibly, please," she said; …printed and signed his name, placed his thumb on the device and handed it back as he retrieved the OSD and inserted it in the datapad containing the report.

She looked at her own datapad, nodded, said, "Thank you for your time. I'll be in touch," then turned and left. She had just enough time to make her afternoon class.

* * *

><p>*** OMNI-TOOL ORIENTATION CLASS ***<p>

Xiùlán looked in wonder at the new omni-tool she'd just received from the class instructor, an asari tech specialist and Serrice Council representative named Mallene Calis, who spent a good deal of time custom fitting each device to its new owner's arm. Once this task had been completed, Calis cautioned everyone to be sure all the data from their old tools had been backed up on their extranet accounts before activating their new devices; any specialized applications could be done once they were all back in their personal quarters, as new pass codes would need to be generated for each program. Most amazing to Xiùlán was the glow the device gave off when activated…it was virtually invisible in any kind of ambient light. Its true colors, deep purple and ultraviolet, could be seen in a darkened area; controls needing input, text generators for instance, were delineated in glowing reds and orange.

The unique characteristic of these new omni-tools was their ability to be personalized to each individual's biometrics…once this was done, the tool was part of its users identity and could not be used by anyone else; the identity lock became a permanent, unchangeable part of the tool's programming, making it truly the only one of its kind. When not in use, it was a thin, elaborately designed platinum bracelet, sporting a small cabochon of bio-sensitive, red banded onyx used for activation. The new tool would perform all the tasks of a standard omni-tool and could perform a few tasks that would not only make it illegal for a civilian to own but also of questionable value to a soldier. They were strongly cautioned by the asari specialist that it must be worn at all times, during bathing and sleeping…even lovemaking, if it came down to it.

_'Jiù xiàng yǒu duōyú de shíjiān zuò'ài!'_ [就像有多餘的時間做愛！Like there is extra time having sex!] came her snarky thought.

The remainder of their class time was spent learning how to employ its more esoteric functions, including its use as a stealth hacker for initiating remote computer attacks that couldn't be traced back to the tool's location. It seemed they had barely begun to experiment with its hacking ability when their class time came to an end. Mallene Calis thanked everyone for their attention and wished them well.

Yuán approached the asari as she was gathering her equipment. "Mallene, just one question. You never told us how these tools compare to commercially available omni-tools."

Calis looked at Xiùlán with an expression of surprise before responding. "There was a student in the morning class that asked me the same question…anyway, yes, if you are familiar with the Savant line of omni-tools manufactured by my company, these are a step up…a huge step up. Shield bonus is increased by 10, tech cool down is enhanced by 25. I think you'll be quite pleased with these and its other enhanced performance features. Here, let me show you one defensive move I did not share with the group."

Mallene activated her own tool; Xiùlán did likewise. "Hold your arm like this," she demonstrated, bending her arm 90° and bringing her forearm up to chest level parallel to the deck. With a slight twitch of her hand, the tool generated a slimmer and longer version of the newly developed omni-blade, extending backwards from her wrist and out at a 10 degree angle away from her arm. "This can be used for a forehand slash, when an attacker is immediately in front of you," she explained. "Move your forearm in a slicing motion, upper right to lower left." She demonstrated the move in the air in front of her.

"It's also useful for gutting an attacker standing behind you, just as if you were using your elbow for a disabling blow to the diaphragm; the two moves can even be combined against two attackers, particularly if the one to the rear has an arm around your throat."

Xiùlán tried the moves several times and found they fit right in with her martial arts knowledge.

"Very nice. You appear to be a natural, Yuán. There are a few other additional 'blade' mods that can be used with this tool…," Mallene said as she entered several commands into her tool; this resulted in Xiùlán's tool emitting a soft 'trill' as it received data and stored it for later activation. "…which I just sent to you. The mods are available on the extranet, if any of your classmates are interested." Mallene looked intently at Xiùlán. "You appear to be a warrior, Yuán…I don't believe you would be out of place in an asari commando unit."

Xiùlán could not hide her surprise. "Perhaps, if my skin were blue. But I don't think your commando units would be prepared for human hair, or the appearance of my face," this last said with a hint of pride mixed with a touch of defiance. "Besides, I have no biotic abilities. That's one of the reasons I chose to enroll in this program."

"If I may…," she brought he left hand up, placing her open palm beside Xiùlán's face without touching her. "By the goddess, Yuán! Your…aura…is exceptionally strong. I would be surprised if it were discernable by other humans, but asari are more attuned to the mental functions of others, especially the human race. You have a great future ahead of you, Yuán Xiùlán, as a warrior…and a leader. Go in peace." Mallene put her hands together under her chin, palm-to-palm, fingertips up, and bowed slightly in Yuán's direction.

Yuán mirrored the asari's actions and whispered, "Go in peace, Mallene Calis."

* * *

><p>*** SAMANTHA TRAYNOR'S QUARTERS, 1655 HOURS *<p>

Xiùlán walked up to the entry to Traynor's quarters and touched the red-glowing lock in its center, effectively ringing the doorbell. She hadn't received a reply to her dinner request, so decided to deliver a request in person. She waited for several seconds before repeating the request to release the lock. After what seemed like forever, the lock released, changing from red to green.

Xiùlán touched the green circle, opening the door to Samantha's room. With the exception of the illumination cast by the weak overhead light just inside the door, the compartment was dark. "Samantha? Are you in here?"

Traynor responded in a quiet voice, "Come in, Xiùlán." A dim light appeared further in the room, about where Yuán imagined a bed side table would be located. Xiùlán stepped in far enough so the door would auto-close and lock behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of illumination, she could make out the bed, sitting next to the table and lamp.

Someone…Traynor, she guessed…was curled up atop the bed covers with her head resting on one hand…knees drawn up towards her chin, other arm and hand hugging her shins. Xiùlán couldn't keep concern from coloring her voice as she said, "Samantha?…Sam? What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"No." The one word response to the latter question was voiced quietly, sadly. She whispered, "Why are people so mean, Xiùlán? What the hell is wrong with me? I go out of my way to not draw attention to myself. There may as well be a big sign on my back saying 'KICK ME' and one on my front saying 'INSULT ME'. I've done nothing…," Her voice caught as she fought back the tears.

Xiùlán kneeled on the floor beside the bed and reached for her hand, only to have it quickly drawn away from her. "Sammy…?"

Traynor found her voice. "Please don't, Xiùlán. I'm worthless. I _should_ go back to Horizon. Nobody there cared…about…my skin color. Here, I'm just a miserable little kuthi" [_Hindi for female dog – a bitch_]

"Samantha Traynor!" '_I need to get this tā mā de chědàn _[他媽的扯淡 _- _fucking crap]_ under control fast._' "I can guess the name of the miserable little sack of hóuzi jiānguǒ that called you that! You can't possibly be taking _him_ seriously, Sam. You can't!"

Xiùlán wasn't sure what to do, how to proceed. She never had to provide comfort to anyone, having always been the recipient of such in the past.

She rose from her kneeling position, leaned over the unhappy woman and quickly straightened her legs. Sam whimpered as Xiùlán laid down beside her and took her in her arms. "Sammy, you are not worthless to me," Xiùlán whispered in her ear. "You are a special person, Samantha… special, and unique."

Xiùlán hugged her tightly, rubbing her back, stroking her from neck to waist.

Traynor's voice was uncertain. "No one wants me here…do they? You don't want…"

"…don't you even _dare_ presume to know what I want, Samantha Traynor," Xiùlán replied in a harsh whisper. "Don't…you…dare! I don't yet know what we…you and I…will eventually become, Sammy. I find I'm thinking about…well, you, more and more. I certainly will not commit to a relationship with a worthless individual. So, you're not worthless, _are you_?" Xiùlán brought a hand up to Sam's cheek, stroking the smooth skin with her fingertips for a few moments; she moved her head slightly so she could look at Sam in the dim light. Dark eyes studied dark eyes for several seconds before Xiùlán ever so slowly, tenderly, placed her lips on Sam's. The kiss was not planned, hadn't been thought out. It just…happened.

Sam was taken aback for a moment before hungrily returning the kiss, moving her own lips to better meet the pair she had been longing for since arrival day, since seeing this beautiful person's nude body in the shower. She tentatively touched tongue tip to Xiùlán's lips, which parted slightly, seemingly to allow its entrance, only to find the way guarded by the tongue behind those lush, tasty lips. There was a slight battle between them before the stronger of the pair won out…Sam's capitulation was total as she surrendered her mouth to this beautiful Chinese woman.

Xiùlán ended the kiss the same way she started…gently, grasping Sam's lips tenderly with her own, sucking on them one at a time before lovingly releasing them. "You are not worthless to me, Samantha Traynor. I like you. I like you a lot. Come on. It's getting late…time to go have a bite to eat before we arouse each other any further."

* * *

><p>*** SAMANTHA TRAYNOR'S QUARTERS, 2130 HOURS ***<p>

Having dinner together had helped Traynor's mood tremendously. They had talked at some length about Joesiar's attitude towards each of them, along with others in their class, particularly female students. Sam had agreed to talk to Heather, another woman that had become a target of the miserable troll's racist attitude; he had somehow discovered each of her parents were from different racial backgrounds, and the litany of insults and sexually suggestive comments had reached new lows, even for Joesiar. Sam was going to accompany Heather to the AG's office tomorrow to add those complaints (along with more of her own) to his 'jacket'.

They had returned to Sam's apartment for beers and to chat some more before 'lights out' at 2300, where Xiùlán had shown Sam how to employ a mental defense to deal with comments by Joesiar and others of his ilk (of which there were very few on this base, thankfully), a lesson she happily embraced.

Xiùlán had finished her second beer and was seriously thinking about heading back to her own room so she could get to bed. Students spending the night with other students was not prohibited here, but neither was it encouraged. The focus was supposed to be on learning; developing friendships was also important, but within limits. "I should go, Sam. It looks to be a long day tomorrow, and I need some sleep. Don't need another headache like I had before lunch today."

Samantha took a sip from the bottle she'd been nursing since the pair had returned from dinner three hours ago. She had been enthralled as Xiùlán told of her first year as an Alliance recruit. "Awww, sounds as if you were just getting to some truly _good_ stuff," Traynor complained. "You never said…did you have any close friends? Like…_really_ close?"

Xiùlán took note of the mischievous light in Traynor's eyes as she answered in a snarky tone, "Lined up outside my door, every night!"

Traynor laughed as she said, "You know what I mean. _Close_ friends. Boy friends…girl friends? _Friends_?

Xiùlán's grin dissolved into a straight line as she thought back on her weeks in basic and the hell she went through on Titan. "Sammy, look at my face…what do you see?"

"Seriously?" Traynor grinned. "I see an exotically beautiful face, Xiùlán…gorgeous dark brown eyes, lush lips, firm jaw line, a head full of lovely ebony hair that falls to your perfectly formed bum…"

Ignoring Sam's last comment, Xiùlán said sadly, "What I see, staring back at me from the mirror every morning of my life?…the face of a woman that doesn't blend in _anywhere_ I go, Sammy. In my home town?…Shanghai? A face with your features, never mind your permanent tan, is what looks different…what stands out in a crowd. In the Alliance, my features mark me as someone different. You say 'exotic'? What makes me exotic, Sam? 'Cause it's been my experience 'exotic' is just a synonym for 'foreign'."

Traynor's jaw dropped. "Xiùlán, _'foreign'_ is not a word I would use to describe you. To me your looks are quite striking. I love your face!" The thought '_I love you'_ came unbidden.

"I haven't made any close friends since I joined the Alliance, Sam. No friends of any kind, truth be told…

"Xiùlán, please." Traynor didn't like the way this conversation was going. She moved to sit next to her as she asked in an anxious tone, "Am I not a friend, then?"

Xiùlán noted Traynor's worried look, realized what she had just said. "Sorry, Samantha. I wasn't including you in the group of friends I don't have. You're the first person I've met that's taken more than a passing interest in me. I have never met a man that _didn't_ think he was the galaxy's gift to every woman he took an interest in." She set her empty bottle down and rose from her chair. "So tell me, do you really want to be friends with someone like me…," Xiùlán placed her hands on her hips, pulled her shoulders back to accentuate her bosom and grinned mischievously, "…or are you only after my body?"

Traynor grinned as she rose and moved to stand a few centimeters from Xiùlán. "You got me. Guilty as charged, your most stunning honor. I'm only interested in your body…those legs…that cute bum…those perfect boobs. Don't care about _you_ whatsoever. And if you believe that…," Sam had been drawing closer to Xiùlán while she was talking; Xiùlán had not stepped back and their mouths were so close Sam's lips brushed hers as she finished in a husky whisper, "…I have a really neat little patch of swamp land on Horizon I feel certain you'd be interested in." Sam tilted her head as she placed her lips against those of her new friend.

Xiùlán responded by reaching around Sam, drawing her close so she could return her good night kiss. Sam squirmed a bit when Yuán dropped her hands to grab her butt. "And here I thought you just wanted me for my mind," she whispered around Sam's lips. "I suppose you'd like me to take off all my clothes as well?"

'_yes…yes…yes…yes…'_ Sam thought to herself. "You don't have to do that, really," came the snarky response. "I'm perfectly capable of removing your clothes all by myself.

Xiùlán broke her kiss, grabbed Sam's upper arms and pushed her back just a bit. "The more I see you, the more I think about you…want you. I'm just not quite ready, ya know? In my head, I can see us thrashing around in your bed together, right now, enjoying each others…company? But the reality for me, Samantha Traynor, is I want to be sure of what I'm doing, what I'm committing to. I think I may be falling for you, falling hard! Honestly? That really scares the hell out of me. I want to make absolutely sure what I am feeling for you is more than simple lust. Can you see that, Sammy?" Xiùlán looked at her friend with worried concern. "I remember telling you I needed some time to think. I'm still thinking about…us. But I'm not interested in a yīyèqíng [一夜情], Sammy."

"Wait, what? 'yīyèqíng'? I picked up a couple of phrases and words when I stayed in Shanghai, but that's a new one to me."

"Sorry, bad habit…I occasionally lapse into Mandarin out loud, although when I do I'm usually cursing a blue streak. _Yīyèqíng_ is a _one-night stand_. Anyway, if I'm to commit myself to you, Samantha Traynor, I mean for it to last, at least until hell freezes over."

Samantha's face briefly showed disappointment; she began smiling again as she replied, "Xiùlán, I want you, so bad it hurts. That's lust. I have never met _anyone_ like you. Truth is, I think about you any time I have a free moment. There's so much I need to learn here, so much to do. This shit with Joesiar is a major distraction…a problem I hope will go away soon. You are a major distraction as well, but one I do _not_ want gone, unless its into my arms. I'll wait for you to think this through, but you need to know I will continue to be a distraction for you until you make a decision."

"Fair enough, Sam. In the meantime, we need to plan how we're going to eliminate Joesiar from the Alliance. I need some sleep. Let's discuss it at lunch tomorrow."

Traynor grin grew wider. "Can't wait."

* * *

><p>*** 7901/11 ***

Xiùlán's second day of non-physical classroom work was going well. The soreness in the middle of her chest had diminished greatly; the bruise was actually beginning to fade a bit, even if Joesiar's prophesy (unknown to him, of course) was beginning to come true…the bluish coloration was becoming a hideous shade of greenish-yellow as it started to fade. Initially, she had been rather upset about this, even if her skin color had less to do with the appearance than the physical process of healing. At least the soreness had lessened…good thing, since she was going back into physically demanding training in less than a week.

Classes today were designed to enhance what they had learned yesterday regarding their new omni-tools; instruction time was spent hacking non-networked computers set up for the class. It was delicate work, meant to teach them how to infiltrate software designed to resist the sort of attacks they were performing. The object was to enter the system undetected, alter the programming in whatever way served the mission, then leave the system, all without a trace being left behind. There was a lot of good natured teasing aimed at the less technical minded students…those for whom the programs sounded obnoxious alarms when the intrusion was detected. As the class progressed, the intrusion sensitivity of the programs was ramped up accordingly; by lunch, few people could claim total success at hacking the programs. The class was told only one recruit, in the other class, had been able to hack their way in undetected 100% of the time, no matter how difficult the program appeared to be. Xiùlán would have bet a year's pay she knew the name of that person; hopefully, she'd be able to learn more from the master hacker in the coming weeks.

* * *

><p>*** SAMANTHA TRAYNOR'S QUARTERS, 2030 HOURS ***<p>

"Samantha…Sam, I…," Xiùlán hesitated before asking, "…have you ever slept with…I mean…had sex…with anyone?"

The question caught Traynor completely off guard. "Once, one night in a co-ed dorm at Oxford," she replied in a soft voice. "The girls on my floor knew about…my sexual orientation…took it upon themselves to 'turn' me. Five of them trapped me in the gym locker room…stripped me…pinned my arms and legs…held me down on a bench…had one of their boyfriends…use me, like a piece of meat," her voice caught as tears began to slide down her cheeks. "I screamed, I cried. No one would help, no one came. They got done using me…left me there…alone…naked, bleeding, crying. They'd taken my clothes…had to walk back to my dorm room with a towel wrapped around me. I had never…had sex before, Xiùlán! It's supposed to be magical, delightful, memorable. It's not supposed to hurt…not supposed to be scary or humiliating." Tears brought on by the suppressed memories continued to slide down her cheeks.

Xiùlán slid over next to Sam, reaching around her with one arm to hold her, grabbing a hand with her free hand as she said, "Sammy, I'm so sorry." Xiùlán pulled Sam tight to her side, holding her close, trying to sooth her.

Sam had regained some control over her emotions and whispered, "I'm sorry, Xiùlán. I didn't mean to just drop that on you. I've never talked about it, hadn't thought about that time since it happened. Blanked it out of my mind, I guess."

Xiùlán replied softly, "You don't need to feel sorry for anything, Sam. What you experienced… what they did to you? That was not 'having sex', Samantha, understand me? You didn't agree to it, didn't choose to participate. You were raped, plain and simple. You reported this, correct? You _did_ tell the authorities, didn't you?"

Sam looked down, embarrassed. "I didn't…I was afraid…afraid those people would hurt me worse. I went to the doctor, got a 'morning after' drug. She took samples, treated my injuries, told me I'd heal…physically…just fine…referred me to a councilor. None of those women were classmates. I moved out of that dorm, changed to a different building…never saw them again."

_'Mòbùguānxīn de mǔgǒu'_ Yuán thought. "Let me guess, Sam…," Xiùlán placed a hand on Traynor's cheek. "…you don't have any skills in unarmed combat, do you?"

"No," she sniffled, "was never able to take any classes…I was a math, tech and communications major, Xiùlán. I never expected I'd need to fight off an attacker, much less six at once."

_'Jīngrén!' _ "Okay, here's what we're going to do. I will teach you how to defend yourself against any and all comers, Sammy. You will _not_ need a gun for close-in work when I'm done with you. It's knowledge you're going to need."

"My god, Xiùlán, I can't let you do that," Traynor stood up as she protested. "I cannot pay you…"

"…Fù gěi wǒ?" She was incredulous! "Pay…_me_? Sam, I would not dream of…I do not require any payment to train you. It will be a privilege to pass on my knowledge. Now, I have to get back to my quarters…lots of studying to do."

"Anything I can do to help you? Perhaps we can teach _each other_, Xiùlán. I can help you with technical, you can help me with unarmed combat. Deal?"

Xiùlán thought it over for a moment. "Why not? I can use the help. Xīnzhèng, Sammy. See you tomorrow."

* * *

><p><em>AN: If any of you are familiar with _Transformation_ (9663635), particularly the later chapters, this chapter helps one gain some appreciation for Traynor's virtually total lack of unarmed combat skills before meeting Yuán Xiùlán. Now we have to see how this pair takes care of Joesiar. Fav or follow! Reviews are good too!_


	3. Declaration of Love

_I want morning and noon and nightfall with you. I want your tears, your smiles, your kisses...the smell of your hair, the taste of your skin, the touch of your breath on my face. I want to see you in the final hour of my life...to lie in your arms as I take my last breath._ - Lisa Kleypas, _Again the Magic_

* * *

><p>*** 217901/18 and onward ***

Yuán Xiùlán hadn't had a chance to 'enjoy' Traynor's company in the week since sharing after-dinner beers in her quarters. She had started using their Monday afternoon free time instructing Sam in the basics of _Jing Quan Dao_, [警拳道] or _Way of the Alert Fist,_ a combination of different Chinese martial art styles designed for practical applications, founded in the mid-1990's by Tao Zhong Xian of Shandong Province. Xiùlán had been a bit surprised at how rapidly Traynor was learning the basics of this ancient art form, until Sam told her of the comments made by several of her fitness training instructors during basic training back on Earth and Titan (_you have __a real talent for close in hand-to-hand combat…you just need a knowledgeable instructor willing to take the time needed to mold you into a human weapon_).

For her part, Sam had been spending ninety minutes after dinner each evening tutoring Xiùlán in the technical aspects of their course work, particularly regarding using their new omni-tools for undetectably hacking electronics, checking for hidden recording devices and using the mini-tools, such as micro-plasma cutters.

The pace of the class work had grown relentlessly since arrival, and they generally spent their evenings together, studying until just before lights out so they could keep up with the 'on-your-own-time' work required to maintain their grade standing. Xiùlán appeared to have a real aptitude for the minutiae of hacking comm systems, aided by the excellent Serrice omni-tool; she was even gaining ground on hacking server nodes without leaving a trace of her presence, even learned how to shift the back trace to look like someone else had been infiltrating the system.

They still spent a bit of time talking about how they were going to get Joesiar tossed out of the program _and_ out of the Alliance; fortunately, he wasn't in any of their classes, and the pace of the program had apparently caught up to him as well, since they seldom saw or heard him in the common areas. They all agreed Joesiar needed a civilian job…mopping floors perhaps, or washing windows or cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, emptying garbage…all on an elcor freighter. Samantha had told Xiùlán that taking Heather with her to file a harassment complaint at the AG's office had gone quite well; _'glasses'_, as they now referred to the clerk there, had not wanted to record the complaints of either of them until Traynor told him a certain Chinese woman would be following up on his actions. Sam said she thought he was going to wet himself. Xiùlán had chuckled at this…she could just picture his discomfiture at having been reminded of her visit just two days prior. She just needed to make sure the complaints were actually being filed with Alliance brass.

* * *

><p>*** 217902/15 ***

In the month since Xiùlán had started teaching Samantha Traynor the intricacies of _Jing Quan Dao_, Sam had developed an intense dislike for Monday afternoons. Xiùlán had chosen Mondays as the best day of the week to review what she'd been taught so far, and introduce Sam to new things…a new attack, a new avoidance technique, a new exercise for her '_aching arms'_, her '_battered hands'_, her _'sore almost beyond all belief'_ thighs and calves. Sam had accused her…no!…had sworn!…vehemently, that Xiùlán was being a harsh taskmaster, to which Xiùlán always replied she was doing only what _needed_ to be done to ensure Traynor would _never_ have her ass handed to her by some miserable batarian or militaristic turian or a creepy little stunted misogynistic human. Xiùlán insisted she _should_ be able to mop the floor with anyone; she held Joesiar up as a prime example.

The only consolation for Sam was the nearly full-body massage Xiùlán was giving her at this moment. "Ahh-ooohchhhh! Xiùlán, lighten up, you're mmmpppffffhh…killin' me!" Sam squealed as Xiùlán applied some additional pressure to the thigh muscles just below her butt. _'How can this woman's hands be this fuckin' strong?'_ she thought as she cried out, "Shit! Don't!…eeeaaahhhh! Xiùlán, for pity sakes, have a bit of…_fuckin' 'ell!_…mercy!"

"You're being a big baby, Sam. I'm not using any pressure at all…" Xiùlán chided as she used both hands to grab Sam's calf muscles and asked innocently, "…does this hurt?"

"Damn! Hell ye…aaahhh…ssss that really hurts! Sonovabitch, Xiùlán! You were taught these torture techniques in some…eeeaaahhhh!…horribly cold, dark-as-a-tomb prison, weren't chu-ooohhh-ouch! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Let go, damn it!"

"Apologize!" Xiùlán said with a wicked grin. "I didn't learn to do this in a prison! _Apologize_!"

"For what!? Stating the obvious? I mean, Shanghai, right? Ahhhhhhhhh! Shiiiiiit! _Xiùlán!_"

Xiùlán loosened one hand, only to grab Sam's other leg in the middle of her calf. She applied alternating pressure to Sam's legs, squeezing just enough to momentarily hurt.

Sam capitulated. "I apologizzzzzzzeeeeee! I'm sorry! Damn, am I _ever_ sorry."

Xiùlán released Sam's legs, waited for her to roll over onto her back, then leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and said, "I learned it in a dungeon, silly girl. Now don't tell me you didn't enjoy _that_ massage."

"I can think of a couple of other places you can massage, Xiùlán," Traynor replied with an equally devilish grin. Reaching up with both hands, she grabbed her trainer's boobs and said, "I'll even return the favor," as she gently kneaded them through her sports bra. "Wouldn't Joesier be jealous of _me_ right now?"

Xiùlán looked at Sam's nearly nude body for several moments, enjoying the feelings evoked by Sammy's talented hands on her breasts; she reached down with her own hands, gently covering Sam's breasts before sliding her hands down along her ribcage, down to the swell of her hips. Sam whimpered a bit from the dual pleasure of having Xiùlán's breasts in _her_ hands and having her loving hands tenderly caressing _her_. Xiùlán leaned in to kiss Sam, teasing her lips with the tip of her tongue until gaining access to her mouth; Sam returned the kiss, gently at first, then with a bit more passion, until Xiùlán pulled away and stood up.

"Okay, rookie. Time to hit the showers." Holding up a finger to quell the incipient protest, she waited for Sam to sit up before continuing. "I've made up my mind about you, Sammy. I feel…I need you. Not only…" she indicated her own body, "…physically, although I think that would be a real slice of heaven. Wǒ ài nǐ sà màn shā·tè léi nà… [我愛你薩曼莎·特雷納 - _I love you Samantha Traynor…_] …can't say it any plainer than that. Wǒ yào yǒngyuǎn hé nǐ zài yīqǐ. Wúlùn wǒmen zǒu dào nǎlǐ, zài liánméng, wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ yīqǐ qù." [我要永遠和你在一起。無論我們走到哪裡，在聯盟，我想和你一起去。-_I want to be with you forever. Wherever we go in the (Alliance) league, I want to go with you_.]

Samantha's look of puzzlement was priceless. "I don't have any idea what you said, although I believe I heard the word 'love' in your firs…wait, did you just say 'Wǒ ài nǐ', Xiùlán? Did I hear you tell me you love me? You wouldn't rip my heart out by teasing me, would you?"

"Of all the words in Mandarin you do _not_ understand, you understood _those_ three?" Xiùlán smiled at her with that special smile reserved only for Sam…a smile of true joy and delight for a woman that had impressed ever since they'd crashed into each other on arrival day. "Incredible! Do you understand your name in Mandarin, _Sà màn shā?_"

Sammy grinned at her as she jumped up and flung her arms around her friend. Kissing her softly on the mouth, she whispered, "Xiùlán, I've wanted you since the moment we collided on arrival day. Don't ask me why…I have no words to express everything I'm feeling for you." Sam softly, lingeringly kissed her again, not to arouse but to affirm. "I need you, Xiùlán. I've never had a close friend…_ever!_ And now? Wǒ ài nǐ, Xiùlán! Wǒ ài nǐ, _yǒngyuǎn!"_ [我愛你，永遠 - _I love you, forever!_]

It was Xiùlán's turn to be surprised. She hugged Sam to her, as if afraid of losing her forever if she didn't hold on. "Samantha, only now do I realize how incredibly lonely I've been since I left my parents home in Shanghai. I joined the Alliance for a career…I intend to be captain of a warship within ten years. I took the courses here to round out my education. I wasn't looking for love, never expected to find a companion, certainly not a woman. Does loving _you_ mean I too am a lesbian? I always felt I would find a man someday, get married, have some children, settle down…until I crashed into you." She kissed Sam, as if experimenting for the first time with the sensations of kissing another woman. "I kissed a few boys when I was in secondary school," she whispered. "Some young men on dates before the course work got so crazy and time consuming." Xiùlán kissed her again, as if sampling a fine wine. "Your kisses are different, Sēn měi. [森美 - _Sammy_] Why _is_ that?"

Samantha gently took Xiùlán's face in both hands and held her as she firmly placed lips against lips, kissing her not as a casual encounter, not as a one-night only dinner date, but as a lover. Pulling back, she said in a husky whisper, "Difference is, Yuán Xiùlán, _none_ of those guys were in love with you. Their loss, really. I _am_ in love with you, xiànzài zhídào yǒngyuǎn." [現在直到永遠。- _Now and forever._]

Xiùlán grinned. "So, I suppose we should celebrate! Showers, fresh clothes, dinner, then coursework until lights out. You have to tutor me some more in using this brand new omni-tool for something besides playing games. Sound like fun?"

Samantha thought it over. Spend the rest of the day with the person that had just declared her love for her, or spend the evening alone. Not much of a choice at all! Grabbing her bathrobe and shower supplies, she smiled, motioned Xiùlán to the door and said, "After you, luv."

* * *

><p><em>AN: A short chapter in the lives of two people in the beginnings of their budding love affair, one that will (unknown to either one) carry them into a war of terrifying proportions._


	4. Instructing the Teachers

_If you can't go back to your mother's womb, you'd better learn to be a good fighter - _Anchee Min,_ Red Azalea_

* * *

><p>*** 217902/22 ***

A week went by with Xiùlán and Samantha spending as much free time as possible tutoring each other in the subjects each knew best; Traynor instructed Xiùlán in simple programming skills, electronic devices and how and when to modify them, and comm systems; additionally, there was specialized instruction in using her new omni-tool. Along with her daily instruction in _Jing Quan Dao_, Sam was being instructed in anatomy…human, batarian, turian, krogan, asari and salarian, all with the intent of learning how to disable, maim, and/or kill each race in the most efficient manner. Xiùlán was even teaching Sam all the different ways she could apply her newly learned hand-to-hand skills alongside her new omni-tool's melee weapons. Sam had accused Xiùlán of being a harsh taskmaster when it came to teaching her unarmed fighting skills. Sam had been unaccustomed to the physical pounding Xiùlán was inflicting on her body, and she had more than one bloody nose to show for her exercises, had to deal with arm and leg muscles that fairly screamed from the abuse they were being put through, and she was virtually asleep before her head hit the pillow at lights out. Xiùlán kept applying the pressure, telling her she _should_ have started these exercises at the age of five, just as _she_ _herself_ had done in her mother's dojo in Shanghai.

Xiùlán awakened this morning to the knowledge she was going to spend most of this week concentrating on physical training, the majority of which would involve hand-to-hand combat. Her first class today would be a demonstration of her abilities against an opponent selected at random from a pool of instructors working for the Alliance.

She straightened up her bunk, shed her sleepshirt and got dressed before eating a breakfast bar and drinking half a liter of high-protein juice. She didn't want much in her stomach for this class, preferring to consume more calories at lunch.

She had told Samantha about this class, hoping she could watch; Sam had attempted to get her own morning class shifted to another day; unsuccessful, she told Xiùlán to take vids. Xiùlán grabbed her nángùn and shoulder pack and left for the training room.

* * *

><p>The young Chinese woman entered the training room silently, quietly padding to the center of the bamboo mat covering the wooden floor. She was dressed in traditional sparring clothes - loose fitting ankle-length pants tied at the waist with a length of silk and a deep blue, high-collared jacket with long sleeves, fastened down the front with matching cloth ties. Her long raven hair was combed back from her face and cinched at the nape of her neck with an ebony ring, carved in the form of a dragon eating its own tail; her hair was inside her jacket for protection against being pulled. She wore neither socks nor shoes, preferring to have her bare feet in contact with the floor. She gripped her polished, two-meter long white wax wooden staff, a 'nángùn'…literally, a 'southern staff', with both hands, holding it crossways in front of her as she sank to her knees. She rested her butt on the heels of her feet, her toes bent upwards so the tips remained on the floor.<p>

Closing her eyes, she meditated on her soon to be opponent, a turian hand-to-hand combat specialist named F'lar'Jid. Xiùlán had studied this turian, had watched vids of her in action against various other opponents, mostly others of her species, but some humans as well. The humans, particularly the males, always appeared to underestimate her cunning…her deviousness. Perhaps they simply felt intimidated by having to fight a female, of _any_ species. Xiùlán had memorized how F'lar'Jid moved, how she reacted to various counter moves.

There was a pattern to the turian's reactions suggesting weakness, something she was hiding. Analyzing the vids frame-by-frame, Xiùlán believed F'lar'Jid was favoring her left shoulder, an old injury that had not healed well. She was compensating, protecting her shoulder at the expense of her right side and torso. Xiùlán believed this would work in her favor.

Xiùlán opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening on the far side of the room…her opponent entered the training room and walked towards her as a turian trainer and a human referee entered from the right. Xiùlán stood in one fluid motion and bowed from the waist as F'lar'Jid stopped in front of her. The turian's face was not as sharply defined as a male's; the mandibles not as prominent, there was no horn crest and her features appeared to be softer overall, with facial tattoos in shades of orange. F'lar'Jid was wearing a mixture of exercise clothing mixed with a few light armor pieces, something that would make Xiùlán's task a bit more difficult. She did not appear to have any weapons, but Xiùlán felt certain the turian had a dagger secreted within her clothing.

The referee held his hand out to Xiùlán, indicating the nángùn. "No weapons for this round, Serviceman." She handed the staff to him and watched silently as he carefully placed it behind her to the right, on a pair of hooks in the wall a meter past the edge of the bamboo mat. As it was outside the active exercise surface, she wouldn't be able to retrieve it during the match without forfeiting. She set her jaw as she turned back to look at F'lar'Jid. Xiùlán's 186 Cm. height gave her an advantage over most of the women in the program; she employed her stature to full benefit here, looking straight at the turian.

F'lar'Jid stared steadily back, having pointedly ignored Xiùlán's bow of greeting. "Are you as soft, as weak, as every human female I've encountered in the past?"

There was something 'off' in her sub-harmonics. If she were human, Xiùlán would have thought she had taken too many shots to the throat, but turians did not have a larynx; although impact damage to the soft tissue underlying her throat, and perhaps even to her nose plates, _could_ account for her vocal patterns. "Zhè shì děngdài nǐ qù fājué, biǎo zi!." [這是等待你去發掘，婊子！- _It is waiting for you to discover, bitch!_]

"What language is that, human? My translator cannot decipher those words, but the tone sounds quite disrespectful."

"Méiyǒu gèng duō de bù zūnzhòng bǐ nǐ de jiǎshè." [沒有更多的不尊重比你的假設。- _No more disrespect(ful) than your assumptions._]

The referee stepped between the pair and looked at each of them in turn as he said, "F'lar'Jid, this is a training exercise only…no lethal force, understand? Serviceman, I realize this is probably your first encounter with a turian. You would do well to remember you can be inadvertently slashed by her talons. If I signal at any time during the next five minutes, both of you are expected to move to the opposite corners. Now, please move to your respective edges and wait for my signal.

Xiùlán backed away, her eyes never leaving the turian's face. F'lar'Jid mirrored her action, carefully backing away from the center of the mat until standing at the far edge.

The referee signaled the start of the match; F'lar'Jid crouched slightly and moved towards Xiùlán, circling towards the right. Xiùlán raised her hands, right arm held tight to her side, elbow bent, fingers curled into a fist; left arm extended straight out from her shoulder, palm of her hand facing her opponent, fingers together, slightly curved back as she moved around the turian. F'lar'Jid rushed in and viciously swung her right arm down, intending to hit and fracture Xiùlán's left collar bone. Xiùlán leaned back to dodge the blow, putting the turian out of balance as she missed.

Xiùlán threw her right, rotating her hand palm up as she struck F'lar'Jid in the throat with folded knuckles and fingertips, catching the turian by surprise; she swiftly followed up, using the heel of her left hand to strike the turian's nose plates, snapping her head back. She didn't pull this punch as she might have on a lesser opponent; that this turian meant to injure her had been demonstrated by her first move. Having staggered the over-confident turian, Xiùlán pressed her advantage by pirouetting around on the toes of her left foot and using her free leg to kick F'lar'Jid in the right side under her arm…the result of this blow on the nerve stem could be likened to a human hitting their so called 'funny bone' on a solid object; F'lar'Jid's arm went numb all the way to her talons. As her hand dropped below her chest, Xiùlán struck again by folding down at the waist and side-kicking the turian's head at the mandible joint; this fractured the mandible with a audible _'crack'_, allowing the forward end to droop in a sickening fashion. Bleeding from her nose, F'lar'Jid dropped to one knee as the referee signaled a pause in the exercise. Xiùlán backed to the corner edge of the mat as the turian trainer and human referee checked F'lar'Jid's injuries.

After conferring together, the referee stood and moved to stand in front of Xiùlán. "Your opponent is too injured to continue, Serviceman." Glancing back at F'lar'Jid, he continued, "It would seem you already have a great deal of knowledge regarding unarmed combat."

"Her over-confidence and lack of respect for human females defeated her before we even began," Xiùlán replied quietly. "My own skills were hardly a factor."

"Be that as it may, F'lar'Jid is unable to continue, Serviceman. We will have to find another sparring partner for you…someone that will present, ummm, more of a challenge. You are dismissed."

* * *

><p>*** 217904/13 ***

It had been eight weeks since Xiùlán had stopped a turian female hand-to-hand specialist cold in her tracks in an unarmed sparring exercise. Xiùlán had been retested six times in the intervening weeks, all with the same result. The trainers, even knowing ahead of time that Xiùlán had thoroughly handed all of her previous opponents their asses, walked onto the bamboo mat with a great deal of superiority, an attitude of _'this female…a human!…can't possibly be better than me'_…each had been injured seriously enough that continuing was out of the question. Her last exercise yesterday had been against two people simultaneously…a young human from Japan that was a champion fighter, and an asari commando that fought with blocked biotics so there'd be no accidents.

Xiùlán had tossed the asari out of the boundary delineated by the bamboo mat. Sam had been in attendance for this and the previous two exercises; she couldn't get over how powerful Xiùlán's legs were. Yuán had rapidly worked the asari around the mat while keeping her between the Japanese master and herself. Once she had the asari where she wanted her on the mat, she grabbed both forearms above the wrists, pulled them to her as she tipped backwards and landed on her butt. She continued moving, rolling backwards as she brought her bare feet up to place them on each of the asari's hip bones; swiftly straightening her legs like a pair of catapults, she forcefully propelled her hapless victim violently, backside first and head down, into the wall adjacent to the door, where she struck with a sickening 'thud' before falling unconscious to the wooden floor. Xiùlán was on her feet before her victim hit the wall, turning to meet the threat from the Japanese master.

He had literally flown at her feet first…she grabbed both his feet and twisted them violently, aiming to fracture his ankles. He fell heavily to the mat, then immediately bounced up to confront Xiùlán with a flurry of thrown punches aimed at her face and torso, all of which she expertly deflected with her hands. He abruptly stopped in the middle of this to attempt a 'round house' kick to her face; this too failed to connect, as Xiùlán swiftly kicked him in his unguarded gonads while he was spinning to bring his leg around.

This appeared not to faze him in the least, but his next move was his undoing; he made the mistake of reaching in to grab her by the throat. Ducking under his outstretched arm, she whirled around, grabbed his arm from the 'outside' and applied pressure with her own forearm and body weight while hanging on to his wrist with a viselike grip; this tore the tendons and ligaments at the shoulder joint in an extremely painful fashion, dislocating the upper arm with a sickening crunch, rendering his arm useless. Seeing the groggy asari attempting to return to the match, Xiùlán ignored the man's cry of pain as she used his arm and body as a pivot point to lift her hips and viciously kick the commando in the face, smashing her nose and splitting her lips.

The referee was frantically sounding the signal for all action to stop; Xiùlán released the injured man's arm and walked to her corner of the bamboo mat, where she stood, impassively watching the frantic first-aid efforts of the two instructors and referee. The asari was on her hands and knees, blue blood streaming from her nose and mouth…she spat out two bloody white chunks, most likely her front teeth; the Japanese master was holding his injured arm as tightly to his side as possible in an attempt to immobilize the shoulder joint…it was quite possible he would never regain full use of his right arm. Both would need the assistance of medics and liberal quantities of medi-gel.

The referee came up to Xiùlán as the pair were being removed on stretchers. "Serviceman, I don't think I've ever witnessed an attack by two people repulsed with such precision. Unfortunately, you've been accused of having a vicious attitude by the trainers of every person with which you've been paired." He had his hands on his hips as he now walked around a bit on the mat. "What the hell am I going to do with you, Serviceman? No one in the facility wants to be on the mat opposing you."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I was only defending myself…didn't realize that wasn't allowed."

"Dammit, Yuán, that's _not_ what I'm saying here. I've watched your face in these matches," he said. Pausing to carefully choose his words, he continued, "It's like you go into a trance, as if…as if you're outside your body, directing it from another dimension. Really scary to witness…I don't think _you_ even realize what you're doing when you're doing it."

"I've been training since I was five, six years old, Sir. When someone comes at me, I react. Don't have to think about it, don't have to analyze it. Reactions all happen automatically…_every_…reaction…_every_…time. I don't think about the correct way to counter someone's attack…I…just…do it." Xiùlán shrugged her shoulders as she studied this man closely. "I won't apologize for knowing what I know. I refuse to be the person leaving this room injured."

"I'm going to have to cancel the remainder of your classes…hell, you've passed this course hands down. Never seen anything like it!"

"If you're shutting me down, then I need a favor," she said. "I'm training a fellow student, Samantha Traynor. Would it be possible for me to utilize this room during _my_ class time to train _her_? It would be a real benefit to the program…she's a really talented recruit, but she needs about ten years worth of instruction in an eighteen month timeframe."

The man looked at her dumbfounded. "Hell, you should be teaching everyone here, but I'll see if I can pull some strings…get you accredited as a student teacher."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

><p><em>AN: A bit more of Xiùlán's time in school revealed. Scary fast hand-to-hand combat specialist, and even at this point in her life she does not suffer fools gladly._


	5. Happy Birthday to Xiùlán

_I want you any way I can get you. Not because you're beautiful or clever or kind or adorable, although devil knows you're all those things. I want you because there's no one else like you, and I don't ever want to start a day without seeing you. _- Lisa Kleypas, _Tempt Me at Twilight_

* * *

><p><span>AN: HEAVY 'M'-RATED SMUT WARNING - This chapter depicts the first time Xiùlán and Samantha make love. The language is a bit more graphic than what you're used to from me, although a lot tamer than what's in some of the stories posted under this category. (Thanks to AmityN7 for some of the ideas I used for descriptions of Sam and Xiùlán's lovemaking.)

* * *

><p>*** 217908/16 ***

In the four months since Yuán Xiùlán had been prohibited from 'sparring' with other hand-to-hand combat specialists, she had been using the training room to teach her skills to Samantha, who turned out to have a real aptitude for the subtleties of _Jing Quan Dao._ Traynor had even been paired with two of the opponents Xiùlán had defeated in the two-month period she had been allowed to test her skills, resulting in a draw with the turian F'lar'Jid (who had shown a lot more respect for human females than when she attempted to take down Xiùlán in February) and a decisive win over a male batarian (Samantha had taken offense at some of the illegal 'holds' he had employed on her, so she taught him a lesson he would not soon forget).

Xiùlán continued to insist Sam _should_ be prepared to defend herself against any and all. "You _have_ to let go of conscious thought, Sammy. Every movement you make _must_ be done automatically, whether for defense or offense. You have to train yourself to maim or kill each time you strike someone. Do not leave your opponent capable of getting up from the floor. If you are attacked by anyone, you can and must defend yourself. Someone puts a hand on you from behind, teach them why that's not a good idea. You have personal space around you…don't let anyone violate that space."

"What about you, Xiùlán?" Traynor snarked. "You violate my space all the time."

Xiùlán managed to look hurt. "If I have offended you in any way, Ms. Traynor, please for…"

"…No! NO!" Traynor took the bait. "I was teasing you…I wasn't serious! Oh, Xiùlán! I am so sorry I said that!" Traynor attempted to wrap her arms around her friend, only to have Xiùlán place her palm on Sam's chest and hold her back.

"You have to be careful that _words_ don't get to you as well, Ms. Traynor," Xiùlán said somberly. "You just offered yourself up to me…I could just as easily have placed my hand a bit higher and crushed your larynx, like this…" Xiùlán swiftly moved her hand up, grabbed Traynor by the bare skin of her throat and gently squeezed as she pulled the unresisting woman to her.

Traynor was frightened by her friend's demeanor. "Xiùlán," she said in a halting voice, "please, you're hurting me. I'm sorry…please…" Sam had both her hands on Xiùlán's wrist and forearm; feeling the mass of muscles and corded tendons under her skin, she realized her life was quite literally in the palm of this woman's hand. "Xiùlán…you're scaring me. Let me go…I'll leave."

Xiùlán relaxed her grip ever so slightly as she pulled Sam closer. "Why would I want you to leave, Sammy? I love you," she said as she leaned in and kissed her thoroughly confused student on the mouth. "I needed to teach you a lesson in preparedness." Another kiss. "Never let an opponent get so close Sammy, unless you plan to take them down." Xiùlán was enjoying kissing Sam, so she held this kiss until Sam hesitantly returned her kiss. "I am the only person you can ever allow into your space like this, míngbáile ma?" Xiùlán let go of Sam's throat and hugged her. "Did I really scare you?"

"Damn right you scared me. Damn near broke my heart, too! You are a frightening woman, Yuán Xiùlán," Samantha huffed.

"Remember what you've learned today, Sam. It could save your life. None of us are born capable of killing others. We have to be trained in that art, and we have to choose to use that knowledge to kill. Now, let's continue on…"

Today Sam was being taught how to use her fists to take down her opponents permanently. "Key to this is moving your arms fast, getting your fists in someone's face 1-2-1, but in slightly different locations each time," Xiùlán said, as she demonstrated on the heavy bag. She had dusted her sparring gloves so each would leave a trace on whatever it hit. On the heavy bag, she left three distinct impressions, all so close together they were almost one. "What you're after is precision and speed in placement" She moved around the bag slightly and attacked it again, the 'Whump whump whump' sound of her fists smacking the surface of the bag coming so close together as to be virtually indistinguishable as separate sounds. "As you may have noticed, I didn't move the bag. That's the advantage of using 'snap' punches."

"I have a feeling I'm going to need to practice this a lot," Sam observed, trying to keep the discouragement she felt from coloring her voice. "And just what the 'ell are 'snap' punches? A punch is a punch, right?"

"Answer to your first statement? Damn right you are," Xiùlán replied. "Sam, you need to be able to pull this combo out whether you're fresh in the first minute or your arms are heavier than lead in the final minute of a match or in combat. What I'm teaching you could very well save your life someday." Xiùlán placed her gloved hands on Sam's shoulders. "As for your question, we're women. Neither of us will ever have the bulk of a man…it's not in our hormones. We can build up our muscles, bulk up our bodies, especially our legs, to a certain degree, but the upper body strength advantage will _always_ belong to the males…it's a matter of testosterone…they have it, we don't. So, we have to fight _smart_. What I'm going to teach you, the 'snap punch', is a quickly thrown punch in which you strike the target and your arm quickly snaps back after the punch. You want contact time with your target to be minimal."

Xiùlán turned and fired a triple combination at the bag, then said, "Think of your fists as weights connected to your waist rather than the end of your arms. Your arms and hands will drop relaxed to your waist as you move around the heavy bag. When you're ready, quickly ground your feet to anchor your hips and imagine your hands suddenly picking up weight and firing with power from your hips. The muscle that starts relaxed has more potential to burst with more speed and power than a stiff muscle. Your focus should be on explosive power, so you can maximize damage to your opponent. Treat the punching arm as a rubber band accelerating to maximum velocity, striking the target, and then bouncing off relaxed immediately afterwards."

Samantha's expression betrayed her uncertainty. "Everything you're saying seems to contradict a lot of what I've seen."

Xiùlán smiled and motioned towards the heavy bag. "Start practicing, Sammy. Don't worry about punching with power…keep your arms and body relaxed and loose. Don't try to punch hard or fast. Relax. You're going for proper technique. Now begin…"

Traynor stepped up to the bag, took her stance and let fly, causing the bag to react from each strike.

"Relax, Sammy. Do it again."

Sam could tell this was going to be a long morning as she attacked the bag again and again. Each time she struck, she increased the speed of her punches as she decreased the apparent power applied. She relaxed, allowing her arms to become extensions of her muscular hips.

Xiùlán said, "Let your fists bounce off the bag, Sammy. It'll help build your timing. Keep after it, you're doing great."

Sam continued to hit the bag, concentrating on her technique. She could feel her muscles complaining, knew she'd be sore as hell tonight, but visualizing the bag as each of the people that had abused her in college kept her going. She took a break after thirty sweat soaked minutes, barely able to raise her arms. "Jeez, Xiùlán, what a workout. Need some water."

Xiùlán gave her some water, then sat her down on a bench and began gently massaging her shoulders and upper back. "Nǐ zuò de hěn hǎo, sà mǐ." [你做的很好，薩米。-_ You do well, Sami_.] Xiùlán said softly in her ear. "You get really good at this _and_ Jing Quan Dao, you'll _never_ have to worry about having your ass handed to you, ever."

* * *

><p>*** 217908/19, 2045 Hours ***

Samantha Traynor began Xiùlán's five-minute countdown as the woman began hacking her way into a computer deliberately rigged to douse her with water if it detected an intrusion. For her part, the top of Xiùlán's head was wet from several previous unsuccessful attempts, and her frustration was showing as she gave vent to her feelings by cursing under her breath in Mandarin. "Dài hóuzi jiānguǒ! Gāisǐ de chóng chūmò cáng wū nà gòu! Pìyǎn tiǎn, shēngzhū miànlín de húndàn! Pí fèn! Tā mā de GǑU NIÁNG YǍNG DE!" [袋猴子堅果！該死的蟲出沒藏污納垢！屁眼舔，生豬面臨的混蛋！蜱糞！他媽的**狗娘養的！**- _Bag monkey nuts! Damn insect infested filth! Asshole licking, pig faced bastard! Tick __dung! Fucking SON OF A BITCH!_] The last became a shout as the computer beeped and splashed water on her head yet again. Rising from her cramped, kneeling position, she had pulled back an arm and was ready to let her fist fly when Traynor grabbed her.

"No no no no no NO NO NO, Xiùlán! Come on, take a break." Traynor hugged her friend and kissed her cheek as she handed her a towel. "Do you want to stop for the evening? I think you're getting too wound up. You tell me not to lose _my_ temper, no matter how badly I'm goaded by whatever miserable bastard I'm fighting. You, my dear, have lost control of your temper. Can't do that on a mission, 'specially if I'm not alongside to talk you down. You almost had it, too. You were doing _so_ bloody _good! _

Xiùlán's expression softened as she returned Sam's hug. "Dammit, Sammy! I don't think I have the touch. I can't seem to get past that last, little bit of encrypted code. Frustrating as all hell!" She hugged Sam tight, enjoying the feel of her body held tight to her own. _'I know what's __reall__y frustrating me, but I'm not going to tell her,'_ she thought.

"You'll get there, Luv. Just give it a rest tonight. We'll tackle it in the morning before class after you've had a good night's sleep. Come on. Showers and bed time…"

* * *

><p>*** 217908/19, 2205 Hours ***

"You going to stay with me tonight?" Normally, Traynor would have asked that question, mostly in jest, but the pair were in Yuán Xiùlán's quarters, and Sam was surprised to hear the question from her friend. Xiùlán had scared the hell out of Sam three days ago, and wanted to make sure things were okay between them. "Just had my birthday, Sam. I'm 22 years old. Should be out celebrating with friends, except…" here she trailed off.

"Happy Birthday, Xiùlán! You should have told me! I would have baked, well, bought a cake for you!" Sam kissed her friend. "I suppose I can stay, as long as invading your personal space is on the agenda. Don't have anything to wear, and I'd bet all your stuff is too large for me."

Xiùlán stood, went to her small closet, rummaged about for a few seconds and produced a short sleep shirt, which she tossed to Samantha. Moving towards her sleeping area, she began removing her clothes, hanging her shirt and pants over the desk chair; she sat on the edge of the bed to remove her socks, then said to Sam, "Does it fit?"

Sam walked into the room with her clothes hung over her arm and the sleep shirt in her hand. "Doesn't fit." She set her clothes down, then tossed the sleep shirt at Xiùlán before flopping on the bed. Xiùlán was really not surprised to see Sam had taken off all of her clothes. She moved to stand beside the bed and leaned over slightly. "You sure you don't want to wear something? Get's pretty cool in here at night."

Sam's reply was to reach up and gently grab Xiùlán's breasts through her bra. Xiùlán looked at Sam's nude body for several moments, enjoying once again the feel of Sam's hands massaging her breasts; she reached down with her own hands, gently took Sam's nipples between her fingers and teased them into attention before sliding her hands down, along her ribcage, down to the swell of her hips. Sam whimpered a bit from the dual pleasure of having Xiùlán's breasts in her hands and having a loving pair of hands tenderly caressing _her_. Xiùlán leaned in to kiss Sam, teasing her lips with the tip of her tongue until gaining access to her mouth; Sam returned the kiss, gently at first, then with passion…hunger, as she slid her hands under the bottom seam of Xiùlán's bra, forcing the cloth up to expose her breasts.

Xiùlán let go of Sam and slowly straightened up to languidly finish removing her bra. She reached behind her head to loosen her long hair, knowing the effect having her arms up had on the appearance of her breasts. With her hair loose, she slowly cupped each of her boobs in her hands, lifting them up as she tilted her head down and kissed each nipple. Sliding her hands up over her breasts, then back down each one to her flat, chiseled stomach, she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slowly slid them under the fabric around to her hipbones before partially turning her back on Sam to slowly, seductively slide her panties down, individually uncovering each cheek of her butt, then down her thighs until she had to bend at the waist to slide them off her legs and past her feet. Slowly straightening and turning back around, it pleased her to see how much Sam had appreciated the show.

As she moved back to stand beside the bed, Sam reached up, placing the palm of one hand on Xiùlán's mound; Xiùlán eased one leg up and over Sam's legs and straddled her, knees beside Sam's hips; Sam had rotated her hand at the same time and gently placed her fingers on the soft, pliant flesh of Xiùlán's vulva as she raised her other hand to caress her breasts. Xiùlán groaned as Sam found and massaged her clit, all the while teasing first one then the other nipple. Xiùlán closed her eyes and threw her head back, thoroughly enjoying the increasingly intense pleasure Sam was inducing in her pussy; she began grinding her hips, forcing Sam's hand harder and harder on and in her engorged flesh. Xiùlán cried out, "Wǒ de tiān a, sēn měi! Tā mā de wǒ gèng nán! Wǒ yào láile!" [我的天啊，森美！他媽的我更難! 我要來了！- My God, Sammy! Fuck me harder! I want to come!] She continued to rock her hips, panting from the intense pleasure while thrusting herself more and more forcefully onto Sam's fingers and hand as she got closer and closer until…

…Sam wasn't expecting the flood of liquid when Xiùlán climaxed; as if a dam had burst, Xiùlán's juices ran down Sam's arm in multiple rivulets as her climax peaked in massive waves of ecstasy before gradually subsiding, causing Xiùlán to abruptly bend forward at the waist, catching herself with straightened arms, hands on either side of Sam's ears.

"Samantha Traynor, without a doubt, for a first time experience that was even better than I could have imagined…I've never climaxed that hard from masturbating! Guess I'm no longer a virgin." Xiùlán leaned down and gave her lover a passionate kiss as Sam continued to gently massage her vulva and breasts. Xiùlán slowly jackknifed her body down so she could swirl her tongue around the areola's of Sam's breasts. Capturing each nipple in turn, she used her teeth to gently nibble on Sam's stiffened buds, enjoying the little whimpers and moans of pleasure that she made. Xiùlán paid so much attention to her breasts Sam didn't realize at first her lover had begun to slide a gentle hand over one of the other places previously indicated as needing a massage. She moaned a bit louder as Xiùlán's talented tongue carved a path down the center of her chest to her stomach, pausing at her navel to explore its delicate folds. Sam shifted her legs as Xiùlán brought her knees up one at a time and placed her legs together between Sam's, sliding them down towards her feet. Sam grabbed the length of Xiùlán's hair and laid it to the side as she began planting little kisses on Sam's mound, burying her nose and mouth in her neatly trimmed bush and teasing her with her tongue before sliding the tip into Sam's glistening flesh.

Sam cried out as Xiùlán used her lips to gently pinch her clit; then, as she alternated lips and tongue, kissing and licking, she brought a hand down and slowly inserted two fingers into her vagina, curving them upwards to touch her 'hot spot'…this caused Sam to arch her back in ecstasy as Xiùlán massaged her slot with her fingers and continued to caress her clit with her lips and tongue. Sam was panting now as she raised her legs and grabbed them behind her knees to give Xiùlán as much access as she needed. She never knew her sex could be the source of such intense feelings of pleasure; whimpering and moaning changed to crying out as she got closer and closer to climax, ending with a stifled scream as she peaked and rewarded her lover with a massive gusher of liquid love, which Xiùlán readily captured as it cascaded onto her face.

Sam reluctantly released her legs, grabbed Xiùlán's muscled arms and pulled her up over her between her upraised knees – their sweat soaked bodies sliding easily together. Sam kissed Xiùlán's lips, tasting her climax on her tongue and in her mouth. "Damn! Is that the way it's always supposed to be?" Sam panted. "I've never known _that_ kind of pleasure, Xiùlán. That was fantastic! Ah, hope you enjoyed your birthday present."

Xiùlán hugged Sam tightly, enjoying the feel of her nude body. She kissed Sam, enjoying the taste of her mouth and tongue. "Ancestors! That was absolutely wonderful, Sam!"

* * *

><p><em>AN: So, my first attempt at writing Hard-M-rated stuff. Let me know if I nailed it, or not. Also, credit where credit is due - found great tips for snap punches on this website, _(expertboxing,com/boxing-techniques/punch-techniques/how-to-throw-a-snapping-punch.)_ with comments and instruction by Johnny N. - the man seems to really know his stuff, and I cannot imagine fighting techniques will change that much in 165 years. Thanks for reading!_


	6. Joesiar Receives a Painful Lesson

_Loving someone is giving them the power to break your heart, but trusting them not to. _— Julianne Moore

* * *

><p>*** 217908/19, 2325 — 08/20, 0010 ***

Sam bent Xiùlán's upper body over the basin in the tiny lav that was part of every student's quarters. Using a large washcloth dampened with warm water and a jasmine scented body wash, Traynor lovingly wiped away the sweat their lovemaking had caused, starting behind her ears, then moving around her hairline down to her neck. Sam used the newly developed strength in her forearms to massage the muscles under the Chinese woman's smooth-as-silk skin as she washed, eliciting low murmurs of contented appreciation from Xiùlán.

Continuing across her upper back, Sam unhurriedly stroked the woman's shoulder blades before moving her cloth into the center of her back, marveling at the chiseled vertebra and ribs plainly outlined under her beautifully pale, olive-toned skin. "Your skin is beautiful, Luv," she commented. "…not a mark on it."

Slowly moving down, Sam rinsed her cloth, freshened it with more warm water and body wash, then washed armpits, arms and both sides of her torso. Thinking, '_if there's a gram of fat in this woman's body anywhere, damned if I've seen any evidence of it!_', she began washing Xiùlán's tight bum, left side and right side, before reaching in between her 'cheeks' and legs. "Feet apart, Luv, so I can make a proper job of it," Traynor whispered into an ear.

"Ahhhh, Sammy," Xiùlán responded shyly. "I can reach all of that myself."

"I know you can…and that's not the point. Are you being modest now, after what we just did to each other? There's nothing between your legs any different than mine, Xiùlán. If I'm to wash you, it has to be top-to-bottom, head-to-toe, and everything in between. I want to do this, Luv, so move your feet apart. Come on…"

Xiùlán groaned in mock protest but did as she was asked. She couldn't deny that Traynor's loving attention to every centimeter of her body was enjoyable. She stiffened slightly as a cloth covered hand gently stroked her crotch several times from front to back. Sam rinsed the cloth again, applied a bit more body wash, then crouched as she washed the pair of especially well-muscled legs – thighs and calves, then ankles and feet, lifted from the floor, lower leg held between her own thighs like a farrier holding a horse's hoof.

With her feet complete, Sam couldn't resist planting a kiss on each side of Xiùlán's tightly muscled bum before standing to rinse, apply body wash and turn her lover around to face her.

Xiùlán gazed at Sam in an appraising manner. "What were the little kisses for, Sammy?"

"Do I really need to tell you? Wǒ ài nǐ, Xiùlán! I want to kiss you all over." With her lover facing her, Sam planted a little kiss on the tip of her nose; she suddenly realized Xiùlán had a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose as she lovingly washed her face _'…how could I have not noticed before?'_ came the thought; Sam continued along her neck under the chin, her shoulders and upper chest, breasts, midriff and front of her pelvis. Thinking _'my god! what a tight belly you have!'_, she rewashed Xiùlán's thighs at their juncture with her torso, then went over her entire body again with a different cloth, dampened with a non-scented moisturizer, in order to wipe off the remainder of the body wash; Sam then patted her skin dry with a fluffy towel. "All done, Luv. Feel better?"

"Mā de, sà mǐ! I could _really_ get used to this pampering," Xiùlán grinned. "You make me feel like I'm the most important person in your life."

"You are the _only_ person in my life!" Sam giggled. "Now, it's my turn to be pampered. Just follow my example."

Xiùlán washed Sam's body in much the same manner as Sam had washed hers, using the opportunity to visually and tactilely explore every centimeter of her medium brown skin. Traynor wasn't as 'muscled up' from her physical training as Xiùlán would like, but she was making good progress; there was virtually no fat under her skin. Even the Venusian dimples on either side of her lower back appeared a bit more prominent than the day they'd first showered together. She was surprised to discover Sam's skin was a shade lighter in color on her ass and boobs (despite the first impression of their communal shower).

Xiùlán wasn't pleased at having to struggle with feelings of arousal that came with washing Sam's full breasts and placing her cloth covered hand in her crotch. "How do you manage to stay on track when you're doing…" Xiùlán washed Sam's boobs a second time, "…these? I just want to drop everything and drag you back into bed!"

"Concentrate on cleaning my skin," she replied, "not on the objects the skin is covering." Sam drew a ragged breath through her teeth once, when the woman's hand, capable of killing with one blow, had gently washed her labia and between the cheeks of her bum. She continued through gritted teeth, "I know they're enjoyable as playthings, but that's for later. Right now, it's cleanup time. It's an opportunity for us to bond in a different way, as important as making love, maybe more so."

"Making love? Thought we were just pleasuring each other, satisfying our mutual lust."

"We were doing that as well, Luv. The two aren't mutually exclusive, you know."

Xiùlán finished washing Sam's legs and feet; being intimately familiar with her legs, she approvingly noted the musculature, particularly the quads, had grown larger and more defined since she had begun Sammy's training program. Looking at her knees, Xiùlán discovered a number of scars on each; most looked to be faded reminders of childhood accidents…one or two had their own faint scarring denoting stitches.

Standing again, Xiùlán applied moisturizer to her lover's entire body, particularly elbows, knees and ankles, then patted the rest of her body dry. Taking Sam's face in her hands, Xiùlán kissed her softly on the mouth, then said, "Come on…we have to change the sheets and remake the bed before we crawl in…."

* * *

><p>*** 0317 ***<p>

Samantha woke up slowly, not wanting the dream she had been experiencing to end just yet; there had been white sand, warm breezes wafting over cool ocean water to rustle the fronds of the palm trees behind her, puffy white clouds in the distance, drifting slowly in an azure sky, and no one around as far as the eye could see. She gradually realized her pillow, although warm, was rather more stiff than she was used to. Also, someone was behind her, very close. There was soft breathing in her ear, the slow rhythm of a sleeping person's chest rising and falling against her back. '_Where am I…?'_ she thought, until memory kicked in. The evening before…Xiùlán…it was _Xiùlán's_ nude body close behind her, 'spooning' her back, long legs tangled with her own, one arm under Sam's head in place of a pillow, the other arm draped over her side, warm muscular forearm against her stomach and chest, hand lovingly holding one of Sam's breasts, also nude, as was the rest of her body.

Sam had to pee; not wishing to wake her sleeping companion, she carefully placed her own hand over Xiùlán's and pressed it more firmly against her breast, enjoying the sensations aroused by the feel of her lover's hand on her body. She sighed as she started to pull Xiùlán's hand away so she could get out of bed; this effort was rewarded with a heavy sigh in her ear, followed by a whispered, "Máfanle, wǒ de ài?" [麻煩了，我的愛？- _Trouble, my love?_]. Xiùlán turned her head slightly and softly kissed Sam's ear as she gently squeezed the breast she was holding.

"Hafta pee…be right back," Sam replied as she elbowed her way up to a semi-sitting position. Xiùlán's hand stayed on her body, trailing down from her boob along her ribs, coming to rest at the crease where her thigh met her body at the hip. "You don't make answering nature's call very easy, Miss Yuán." She looked into the deep pools of dark brown eyes, studying her through slitted lids in the dim light of the compartment '…_like a tiger in the shadows, waiting to pounce,_' she thought, before swinging her legs over and getting to her feet, smiling as she felt that loving hand slide around to her butt and down the back of her leg. She thought, _'I could __so__ get used to this!' _as she took the few steps to the compact toilet compartment. She inwardly cringed as the sound of her stream brought to mind a horse pissing while standing in a shallow creek.

Thinking back on the events of a few short hours ago as she wiped and stood, she flushed the toilet and washed her hands. They'd both crowded in here last night, exploring their love further as they took turns washing the sweat from each other's bodies with damp washcloths before going to bed. It had been Traynor's idea for them to sleep nude.

Opening the door, she tiptoed back to Xiùlán's bed and eased herself under the covers. Xiùlán was now lying on her other side, back towards Sam, covers pulled up over her ear, apparently sound asleep. _'Damn! Just like that._' Reflecting on the speed with which Xiùlán had returned to her slumbers, Traynor snuggled up to her bare back and thought, _'She's a perfect fighter…able to go to sleep quickly, take advantage of any opportunity to rest_.' Reaching over Xiùlán's side, Sam snaked her arm under that of her lover's in order to place her own hand on a breast. Xiùlán, stirring slightly at this intrusion, responding by placing her own hand over Traynor's and pressing it tenderly towards her chest. A whispered "Gǎnjué hěn hǎo, sà mǐ. Wǒ ài nǐ." [感覺很好，薩米。我愛你。- _Feel_(s)_ good, Sami. I love you._] was all the indication Sam needed that this beautiful woman had completely accepted her as a companion. Traynor smiled, whispered, "Wǒ yě ài nǐ," closed her eyes and was almost instantly asleep.

* * *

><p>*** 0752 ***<p>

"Zǎoshang hǎo, wǒ de ài," [早上好，我的愛 - _Good morning, my love._] Samantha cracked open an eye to see who was whispering Mandarin centimeters from her ear. She was waking up for the first time in the arms of her newfound love…the feelings of happiness and contentment, anticipation of a life together with this fascinating woman, all converged in her mind as she laid there facing her, their arms around each other and their legs relaxed and intertwined. Sam placed a kiss on each of Xiùlán's eyelids, smiling as they parted ever so slightly to reveal dark eyes, calmly regarding her in the dimness of their sleeping area.

"I have no idea what you just said," Traynor whispered in response, "but I'd love nothing more than waking up to those words in my ear every morning for the rest of my life."

A gentle kiss on Sam's cheek. "Zǎoshang hǎo, wǒ de ài," came the whispered reply, "means '_Good morning, my love'._" This was followed by another gentle kiss. "Xiànzài yǐjīng wǎnle. Shàngxué shíjiān, wǒ de ài." [現在已經晚了。上學時間，我的愛。] Another kiss, then "That means '_It's late. School time, my love_'." She hugged Sam tightly to her, enjoying the feel of her nude body against her own; longing and arousal and need all playing out in her mind. "Last night was the best night of my life, Sammy," she said softly, before finishing in a voice tinged with shyness, "Couldn't have asked for a better birthday present. How'd you know what I needed?"

"Just a lucky guess, based on your frustration level with your last hacking attempt." Sam reached up to place her palms on Xiùlán's cheeks. "I love you, Yuán Xiùlán. I cannot imagine having any life without you being a part of it. Sounds crazy when I say it out loud, but it's the truth." Sam searched her dark brown, almost black eyes. "Xiùlán, I promise you that no matter what happens in future, wherever we go, whatever we do, no matter how many light years separate us, I will always…_always_…love you."

Xiùlán almost replied with a joke, but instantly changed her mind; it was obvious Sam was baring her soul just as she had bared her body. "I love you as well, Samantha Traynor. I don't think I realized until this very second how special you've become to me. I am sorry I scared you so badly on Monday…I should have used a different method." Xiùlán reached up between them, placed her fingers on her lover's cheeks and applied her lips to Sam's in a quick little kiss. "Time to get ready for classes, wǒ de ài…lots to do today."

Reluctantly, she untangled her legs as she playfully brought her hands down to fondle Sam's breasts. "I think I finally understand why men find boobies so fascinating, Sammy. They're nice to touch, to massage. Much more fun to play with yours than my own," she giggled.

Sam was enjoying the attention, but grabbed Xiùlán's hands and snarked, "Much more fun for _you_ means _much_ more horny for _me_, Luv! We'll be her all day if you don't stop, and damn! I can't believe _I'm_ being the responsible party here! Go on, get up. They're all yours tonight…hell, every night, I promise."

Xiùlán forced herself to release Sam and let her get up so she could use the toilet. Xiùlán unhurriedly stretched and rose from the bed. She straightened the covers, then performed her deep breathing exercises before beginning her Tai Chi movements.

Traynor opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom to see her lover out of bed; more intriguing to Sam was the sight of a still completely nude Xiùlán going through her exercise routine, a form of Tai Chi called _Neigong_. Watching her cross her arms in front of herself as she brought them up and stretched towards the overhead was making Sam horny all over again. With her arms up, Sam admired the woman's chiseled abs before Xiùlán leaned forward, bending at the waist to wrap her hands around her ankles.

As she returned to an upright posture, she brought her hands up and crossed her forearms in front of her, took a deep breath and exhaled it through her mouth.

She spotted Sam and smiled. "All done in there? Must be my turn." She took two more deep breaths, exhaled each through her mouth, then walked up to Sam and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "Since we are committed to each other, I will inquire about cohabitation accommodations for us…may even be able to get a larger space with a full bath. I'm going to add to your work load as well. No time this morning, but I want you to learn some form of Tai Chi. It'll be of great use to you in future."

"If you don't let me go so we can get dressed, our only future will be a one-way shuttle ride back to Earth." Sam kissed her, then smacked her butt and said, "Get going, xùnliàn zhě."

* * *

><p>*** 217910/01 ***

In the 42 days since Xiùlán had consummated her love for Samantha Traynor, she had finally gained enough mastery over her omni-tool and knowledge of computer servers to enable her to hack into them, leave instructions or malicious code or both, access and extract sensitive information, and exit without leaving any trace of her intrusion or presence. Of all the recruits in their class, Xiùlán and Samantha were the only two people able to so completely dominate the computers and servers presented to them. Xiùlán knew Sam was the reason she herself could claim that mastery. It had taken many long evenings of instruction and coaching by Traynor for Xiùlán's efforts to finally bring her the success that came so easily to her lover's clever mind.

Unfortunately for the talented pair, their abilities had drawn some negative attention from the few people that were totally unsuccessful at electronics intrusion, namely, Joesiar and his minions, four guys (to call any of them 'men' did a disservice to the gender) whose very existence called into question the wisdom of natural selection.

Traynor, after not having seen Joesiar since first of the year due to changing class requirements, was confronted by him in a passageway before her first class after lunch; she had been walking fast and not paying a lot of attention to what was in front of her until Joesiar planted himself in her path, causing her to nearly collide with him. He roughly pushed her back and said, "Hey _bitch_, why don't you watch where'n'ell yer goin'?"

Fortunately for Sam, she was now a lot more knowledgeable about how to defend herself physically and mentally from bullies like the pale-eyed miscreant standing in front of her. She surreptitiously engaged her omnitool's audio recorder and answered in a condescending voice, "I'm sorry. Would it have been too much trouble for you to have walked on the other side of this 6-meter wide passageway?"

"Well now, yeah, it _woulda_ been too much trouble. Ya see, I don't think you belong here with decent folk," Joesiar said. "You an' dat fuckin' chink friend of yourn think you're so damned smart, acing all dem computer classes. Way I figure it, yer cheating to get dem scores. No one's dat good. Both'o'ya shoulda been booted out da nearest airlock on the way up here from Earth. Now yer breathin' air dat's rightfully mine, forcing me and my pals to breath what you exhale. I don't think dat's right, do you?"

Traynor chuckled. "You're joking, right? Joesiar, that's _really_ funny. I could swear you said…" Traynor laughed again in spite of herself, "…you 'think', not once, but twice. I find the concept of you?…thinking?…absolutely ludicrous, to say the least." She shook her head in disbelief as she chuckled again – the sound of it sending chills up Joesiar's weak spine, not that he'd admit it to anyone. "Too bad for you, Joesiar – I'm not scared of you, and I'm not going to back down…," she continued as she added a truly menacing tone to her voice, "…so get your goddamned ugly face the hell out of my personal space before I remove it for you."

Joesiar's face turned beet red as he looked at the minion standing behind her and said, "Grab her, Hobie. I'm gonna teach dis bitch a lesson in manners!"

Hobie decided he would take advantage of the opportunity and grab a handful of Traynor's breasts as he started to snake his hand over her left shoulder. What happened next made Hobie wish he'd never met Joesiar _or_ Traynor, as she swiftly bent forward at the waist while throwing her right leg backwards at the hip; this lifted Hobie off his feet as Traynor's lower leg flew up between his legs and made full contact with his nuts. As Hobie bent forward with an exclamation of surprised pain, Traynor swiftly jerked her right arm back and up into his face, breaking his nose with her elbow. He hollered something unintelligible as he grabbed his bloodied face with one hand, lost his balance and fell on his side, curled up in a ball holding his damaged gonads with his other hand. Traynor crossed her arms in front of her as she calmly returned her attention to Joesiar. Head tilted, one eyebrow raised questioningly, she asked in a voice still full of menace, "You were saying…?"

Joesiar proved his ability to think on his feet was virtually non-existent by rushing at Samantha with both arms raised and spread wide as if to grab her. She responded by leaping straight up in the air, arms positioned straight out to either side with hands partially folded towards her wrists, forefingers and thumbs extended, lower legs drawn up underneath her body in the form of a crane taking flight. As her hips came level with Joesiar's head, she lashed out with a brutal kick, striking him square in the chest with the sole of her right boot; the staggering impact halted his forward momentum and sent him back two steps as she touched down lightly in front of him.

Traynor's kick had been powerful enough to knock most people off their feet. Joesiar bent over for a moment, then stood back up just in time to catch Samantha's extensively practiced snapping three-punch combo full in the face. The first punch broke his nose, causing a rivulet of blood to begin trickling out of each nostril; her second punch hit him square in the mouth, resulting in more blood as his teeth cut the inside of his lips. The coup de grâce was an uppercut to his chin…this snapped his head back and dumped him on the floor as if he'd been a marionette with strings suddenly severed. Traynor brought her fists up to her chest, took a deep breath and released it, then lowered her arms to her sides.

She sent a speedy text to Xiùlán, then quickly shot several photos with her omni-tool; with the audio she'd recorded during their _conversation_, she felt she had more than enough to get Joesiar dropped from the program, _if_ she hadn't killed the bastard. She crouched next to his still form and used her omni-tool to check his life signs – he still had a pulse, so his hard head had saved him this time. She noticed blood on her knuckles as she put in a call for medical support, closed her tool and leaned against the corridor wall to slide to a squatting position, knees at her chin. Bringing her hands up to look at her knuckles, it didn't really surprise her to see blood on the backs of both. She grimaced as she attempted to make a fist with each hand…they were going to need some treatment. Better get an antibiotic shot as well…no telling what kind of germs were on Joesiar's face.

A crowd of recruits had already gathered when Xiùlán arrived; medics were preparing to transport Joesiar to the infirmary, along with a still bloody Hobe. "What the hell happened, Sam," Xiùlán asked in a voice full of concern. "Thought you were on your way to an omni-tool weapons class."

"Joesiar thought he'd teach some bitch a lesson…you think he was referring to _me_?" Sam asked innocently, then added, "Pretty disrespectful for an Alliance recruit, don't you think?"

Xiùlán looked at Joesiar's bloody face as the medics finished applying medi-gel and hauled his still unconscious form away on a stretcher; Hobe shuffled along pitifully in their wake. "You…did that?" Xiùlán pointed after the injured pair. "You actually dropped…both of them?" Shaking her head, she grinned and said, "You are certainly not the same Samantha Traynor I crashed into last December. Wángbā dàn!" [王八蛋！] She grabbed her friend and hugged her tight. "I am _so_ proud to call you my xuéshēng, Sammy! Gāisǐ de!" Xiùlán grabbed her friend's hands, felt the blood on her knuckles and drew back, alarmed. "Sēn měi, nǐ de zhǐ guānjié! [森美，你的指關節！– _Sammy, your knuckles!_] We need to get those injuries treated." Before Sam could answer, Xiùlán brought out a small container of medi-gel from a thigh pocket and applied a bit across the knuckles of each hand. "This'll help until you see the medic…," she said.

They were interrupted as their group lieutenant, Olivia McKenzie, walked past the still gathering crowd and stopped in front of Xiùlán. Sam and Xiùlán both snapped to attention and saluted. Returning the salutes, McKenzie observed, "Just what in the name of God's green Earth happened here, Serviceman? Looks like someone…," she paused to look around her at the walls and floor, "…or a couple of someones, lost a lot of blood!" Hands on hips, she glared at Xiùlán, waiting for an explanation. The surprised look on the lieutenant's face when Traynor moved past her friend to stand in front of her was priceless. Traynor activated her omni-tool and started speaking as the audio recording transferred to Lieutenant McKenzie's omni and the storage cell of Sam's own personal extranet account.

"I just sent you an audio recording of our conversation from the moment I apologized to Serviceman Joesiar for nearly running into him; I am also downloading the last fifteen minutes of the security cam video showing this passageway. Seems six meters isn't enough space for him to peacefully pass by someone walking in the opposite direction, Ma'am."

Several of the young women standing behind Sam snickered at this, drawing a 'hairy eyeball' look from McKenzie. Sam noticed a number of the women gathered here had previously been targets of Joesiar's racist and misogynistic taunts as she continued, "Joesiar expressed his unhappiness that I was breathing air he felt was rightfully his; he instructed his companion standing behind me to grab me so he could, quote, '_teach dis bitch a lesson in manners'_, end quote. His companion, Serviceman 3rd class Hobe, attempted to grab my breasts as he reached over my shoulder; his reward was possibly ruptured testicles and a broken nose, which is the source of the blood behind me."

Applause erupted around her at this, with much hushed discussion about men and pigs being cut from the same cloth. McKenzie raised a hand for silence as she asked, "How in hell did you obtain security cam footage…" she looked at her own omni-tool, "…from two cameras?"

"I hacked the servers, Ma'am."

"I don't expect the security chief will be pleased about that, Serviceman Traynor!" McKenzie replied huffily. "How in hell did you manage to hack into the system so fast?"

"Security doesn't know they've been hacked," Sam replied smoothly. "Part of my skill set…part of my course work. Only way they'll learn about it is if you report me."

McKenzie sighed in exasperation, then motioned for Traynor to continue.

"Serviceman Joesiar, having seen how inept his companion was at attempting to grab me, apparently concluded he could take me on without any help. His theory was flawed." The crowd of mostly women students, having grown in number to between thirty to thirty-five, laughed at Traynor's description of Joesiar's defective reasoning.

Traynor looked around her quickly, glanced at a grinning Xiùlán, then returned her gaze to Lieutenant McKenzie, who quietly inquired, "Don't you think your reactions were a bit extreme, Serviceman? You severely injured two fellow recruits."

Traynor could not contain her amazement. "What in 'ell would you have me do, _Ma'am_? Let Hobe get his jollies by playing with my tits while Joesiar slapped me around, beat me senseless, hurt me, maybe raped me?"

The women standing around could be heard unhappily murmuring amongst themselves as they all looked at the lieutenant; McKenzie looked back at several of those closest to her before attempting to answer Samantha's question. "No, of course not, Traynor, it's just…"

"…just what, Ma'am? My instructor tells me I don't need to have my ass handed to me, ever." The students surrounding them murmured in agreement. "And just so you know, Joesiar referred to my xùnliàn zhě [訓練者] – my Jing Quan Dao trainer, who just happens to be my dearest friend, as a 'chink'." Murmurs of disapproval could now be heard rippling through the students. "Joesiar picks on me…he picks on Yuán, on…" she looked about quickly and spotted the young woman she'd accompanied to the AG's office in January, "…Gonzales." Heather smiled as she looked at the lieutenant. "We're all different, one way or another, Ma'am. What do we have to do to get Joesiar discharged from the Alliance? We've filed multiple complaints with the AG's office all year with no results. The sonova droolin' whore does not belong here!"

Lieutenant McKenzie didn't like the tone of the conversations she could hear going on around her. "Ladies! Don't you all have someplace you need to be?"

Turning her attention back to Sam, she said, "Serviceman Traynor! Have your hands treated in the infirmary, then get to your next class. I'll talk to you later in private. Dismissed, all of you." McKenzie stood her ground as a number of the women battered her shoulders walking by her. Sighing heavily, she looked at Xiùlán, then at Samantha, turned and headed for her office.

Samantha was absolutely livid. "Goddammit, Xiùlán. Do I haffta fuckin' kill the miserable little pig-faced bastard?"

"Don't you dare! I saw him first," she grinned. "He's all mine, míngbáile ma?" Xiùlán grabbed Sam's shoulders. "I am so proud of you, Sà màn shā! We'll get him kicked out. It's past time, before we transfer out of this base. Now, let's get you to the infirmary, get your hands checked out. Then…I'm going to buy a pair of sparring gloves for you. Nǐ zuò dé hěn hǎo, sēn měi!" [你做得很好，森美 – _You have done well, Sammy_]

* * *

><p>*** 217910/01 – 1752 ***

Traynor arrived at Lieutenant Olivia McKenzie's office, waved her hand past the door lock to activate the chime and waited. The door segments unlatched and hissed apart, sliding into their bulkhead receptacles as McKenzie absent-mindedly waved for Sam to enter.

As she took the six steps necessary to reach the lieutenant's desk, she started her audio recorder, then came to attention in front of the lieutenant's desk and saluted, holding it until McKenzie glanced up from the datapad she was studying.

"Stand easy, Traynor," McKenzie said as she returned the salute. "I want to talk to you about what happened this afternoon."

"Not sure what there is to talk about, Ma'am," Traynor replied, eyes focused straight ahead. "I believe the audio and video records speak for themselves."

"Well, Joesiar and Hobe's accounts differ - they both insist you instigated the fight. Joesiar wants to press charges against you." McKenzie leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers in front of her mouth. "As far as Joesiar is concerned, you attacked him for no reason."

Traynor broke her gaze at the far wall to stare at McKenzie in shock and disbelief. "Even with the recorded evidence?"

"He hasn't been made aware there _is_ recorded evidence," McKenzie replied. "You came damned close to killing him this afternoon, Traynor…thank you for _not_ following through, by the way. As for Hobe…" the lieutenant grinned in spite of herself, "…he may very well be singing soprano for the next few weeks." McKenzie paused, studied her datapad, then continued. "I don't think I've ever seen a three-punch combo landed with such precision and speed. And the way you kicked Joesiar when he came at you?…that move is _certainly_ not part of the core curriculum. In fact, nothing I saw in that footage is being taught on this base, Traynor. Where in hell did you learn such lethal hand-to-hand combat training."

"My personal trainer. She's been schooling me in Jing Quan Dao, or _Way of the Alert Fist._ She's also…"

"_She_, Serviceman?" McKenzie interrupted. "I wasn't aware we had female combat instructors on staff."

"_She's_ a student as well, Ma'am…teaches me how to fight, how to defend myself against personal attack. I instruct her in all things electronic…using her omni-tool for computer hacking, code breaking and the like. It's a mutually beneficial partnership."

"I see." McKenzie picked up her datapad, scrolled though the information displayed. "Ah, SC1 Xiùlán. She's _your_ instructor?"

"Yes Ma'am, SC1 _Yuán_…Yuán Xiùlán," Sam responded. "Xiùlán is her given name. Family name is listed before given name in China, Ma'am."

"I think I understand how you learned to fight in such a vicious manner, Traynor. No one in this entire facility wants to be Yuán's opponent. We can't even bring opponents in from other races – the asari she fought is still having trouble breathing through her nose. I have it on good authority Yuán fights on 'auto-pilot'…enters into some kind of detached state, almost trance-like…never any wasted effort. Totally merciless."

Traynor chuckled. "Not totally, Ma'am. She's left all her opponents alive…,"_ 'including me' _Sam thought back to the powerful hand gripping her throat not so many weeks ago. "…so far. She's an…interesting…woman." Traynor said this last in a soft, contemplative voice.

"Let's get back to the problem at hand, Traynor. You and…Yuán…have been filing complaints about Joesiar since you arrived in January. How do you think it's going to look to Alliance brass…you kicking this guy's ass now, just before your class is due to transfer to your next training venue?"

"We don't believe Joesiar should even _be_ in the Alliance, Ma'am. If you've read the complaints we've been filing, then you are more than aware of the reasons." Traynor fixed McKenzie with a steely glare as she continued, "Joesiar needs to be discharged before we transfer. The only reason he's even _in_ the Alliance at all is his uncle – Major General Bradley Joesiar."

McKenzie sat back in her chair, a look of surprise on her face. "How do you know about Joesiar's connection to the major general? That's not common knowledge."

"_Really_, Ma'am? Of all the people in this program, none are here because of how well they happen to be connected, except Joesiar and his so called friends Hobe, Tatum and Rosemont. None of _them_ would be able to pass the aptitude test Xiùlán or I or the rest of the women here took to gain admission…hell, I doubt the four of them working _together_ would be able to comprehend the questions." Samantha paused to gather her thoughts. "The last three pukes are simply followers, Ma'am, misogynistic bullies. Joesiar is the real problem…he's an ill-bred, narrow-minded xenophobe. Can you imagine him working with turians…perhaps with F'lar'Jid?…she has a low enough opinion of humans anyway. Meeting Joesiar would put the icing on _our_ cake for her."

"Okay, Traynor, you've made your point. How are we going to resolve this situation?"

"Convene a formal hearing, Ma'am. Request an adjudicator from Earth, someone unfamiliar with the situation here," Traynor responded. "By the time it can all be arranged, Joesiar's face shouldn't be so black and blue. _And_ we cannot allow him or his friends to learn of the video and audio we have – I want that to be a '_shove it down your throat' _kind of surprise for him, a '_nail in the coffin'_ for his enlistment in the Systems Alliance."

"Okay, Traynor. I'll start the ball rolling," McKenzie said. "Shouldn't be too difficult to prove your case. By the way, how're you hands?"

"They'll be fine, Ma'am. Xiùlán treated them for me. She'll work on them again this evening."

McKenzie looked uncomfortable as she started to ask, "Traynor, forgive me for asking…are you and…"

"…Xiùlán in a relationship?" Traynor finished for her.

"Yes. You don't _have_ to answer that, Traynor, and I don't mean to make you uncomfortable…no judgment, okay?" McKenzie explained. "I just think that, if the two of you are…well…," McKenzie didn't finish her thought, but Sam could guess where this was going.

"If Xiùlán and I _are_ in a relationship, it could hurt our chances of getting Joesiar kicked out of the Alliance?"

"Something like that," McKenzie looked down at her desk, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

"Let's just say I'm not ashamed of my life choices, Ma'am, and leave it there for now," Traynor replied with a smile. "I'll be happy to talk to you further when we're ready to ship out, okay?"

"Okay, Serviceman. I'll keep you in the loop regarding a hearing date. Dismissed."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Joesiar receives his first (very painful) lesson regarding female soldiers, Samantha Traynor in particular. He doesn't know it, but Xiùlán would probably have killed him and Hobe. Thanks for visiting! Fav, follow, review. _


	7. The Hearing

_Stupidity isn't punishable by death. If it was, there would be a hell of a population drop _– Laurell K. Hamilton,_ The Laughing Corpse_

* * *

><p><em>AN: This chapter deals with one of the things I am leaving largely unsaid, namely, racial insults. I have purposely confined insulting terms to Xiùlán (Chinese) and Samantha (mixed Indian and British), as they are my main characters. Joesiar's racism and misogyny knows no bounds; if someone is not a 'white' North American male, assume the worst about him, then double that for good measure. Representatives from every human 'race' and both genders are in Xiùlán's class; I only mention them in passing (like Heather Gonzales) as they interact with my two protagonists. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

><p>*** BASE DINING HALL — 1001/2179, 1835 ***

Xiùlán carried her tray to the table, set it down and took a seat next to Traynor after setting her shoulder bag on the bench beside her. "How you doing, sēn měi. What happened in McKenzie's office?" She unwrapped and separated the included disposable chop sticks and began eating as she used her left hand to hold her bowl under her chin.

"She's going to call for a hearing…ask for an adjudicator from Earth so we have a chance to get Joesiar kicked out of the program, maybe Hobe too," Sam responded before sipping her iced tea. "What do you have on your tray? Smells kinda spicy."

"Just some Shanghainese stir-fried vegetables," Xiùlán replied between bites. "It's really good, and my stomach thinks my throat's been cut." She took a couple more bites before continuing, "I think you're smelling the ginger and garlic – maybe the red onion. You ought to try it…it's really nicely done, considering it came out of an institutional kitchen." She paused to drink some of her own iced tea before continuing, "Does McKenzie think we even have a chance?"

Sam ignored her friend's question. "Just so you know," Traynor complained, "_any _time you have food cooked with garlic, _I_ get to experience it as well. You _do_ know you sweat the stuff,_ right?"_

"Okay, Sam, just so _I_ know for my own information, are we having a disagreement here?" Xiùlán asked. "Because if we _are_, I need to know if that means our honeymoon is over."

"What!? No! Where in 'ell did _that_ come from!? I was just making an observation, and I…" Traynor paused as she saw the suppressed grin and the twinkle in Xiùlán's eyes.

"Got you!" Xiùlán triumphed. "I swear, sometimes you are just _so_ damned easy! I mean, well, you're 'easy' every night of the week, but that's another thing altogether; right now, it's like…"

"Dammit, Xiùlán, you are going to be _really_ sorry when I have a seizure or a stroke or a heart attack from all your jokin' around," Traynor said in mock exasperation. "I never know when to take you seriously anymore."

Xiùlán took another bite of her veggies and said in a solemn voice, "I _am_ being serious right now, Samantha – I…love…_you_. Don't _ever_ think for a moment that _that_ will ever change." Xiùlán wanted to kiss her, but couldn't do so here. "Now, what about McKenzie?"

Samantha fixed Xiùlán with a cold stare that quickly warmed. "Dammit, Xiùlán. You are so _impossible_ sometimes." Traynor chuckled. "I love you, too. And McKenzie believes we _do_ have a good chance of getting the results we want." Sam paused before continuing. "She _did_ start to ask me about _us_. She thinks if it becomes known you and I are in a relationship, it could lessen our chances of getting Joesiar kicked out of the Alliance."

"Hhhhmmm…," Xiùlán made a sound around her chop sticks as she took another mouthful of veggies. "Just how _did_ you take them down, wǒ de ài?" she asked. "I didn't receive a copy of the video you purloined from security."

"I'm so sorry – here…" Traynor activated her omni-tool and sent a copy of the audio and video to Yuán's omni… "McKenzie said she'd never seen any moves like what I used to take those two idiots down today. She _did_ thank me for not killing Joesiar, by the way." Traynor chuckled as Xiùlán took a look at the footage without the audio. "Not sure that was an intentional error on my part, of if Joesiar's concrete skull saved him." She paused as she examined her hands. "I'm going to need some more first-aid on these knuckles, in any event."

"Let me see them…" Yuán set her bowl on the table and gently took Traynor's hands, looking intently at the injured knuckles on each. "Looks like those on the left are in worse shape than those on the right…understandable, since you hit 'im in the mouth with your left. We'll treat them again tonight…should heal without any problems. Keep flexing your fingers so they don't stiffen up." Xiùlán returned her attention to Sam's story as she picked up her bowl to finish eating. "You tell her who your trainer is?"

"She asked, since she's sure nothing she saw me do is part of the 'official' core curriculum taught here. She said she understands how I learned to fight so viciously…said _no one_ wants to go toe-to-toe with _you_." Traynor paused for a moment to finish her tea. "That asari you tossed around? She's still having trouble breathing through her nose. McKenzie says you fight on 'auto-pilot'…that you enter into some sort of detached state, a trance, like you're outside your body. 'Totally merciless', she called you." Sam paused, then added, "I told her you hadn't actually _killed_ anyone…"

Xiùlán looked thoughtful. "There may be a bit of truth to what she said, Sēn měi." She finished off her meal, using a bit of bread to sop up the last bit of soy sauce. "Looking at this video? It appears to me you're learning to fight as I do…look at this." Xiùlán brought her arm around in front of Sam and replayed the video from the point where Sam had put Hobe on the deck. "Watch your face and body as you jump straight up…you're focused…form nearly perfect…no distractions. The kick occurs at the perfect time to have the maximum effect on Joesiar." Xiùlán 'stepped' through the video footage a frame at a time. "When Joesiar came at you, your reaction was automatic, wasn't it? You didn't have to think about it, didn't have to analyze it, did you? I haven't had a chance to see you in action against a live opponent…but…see here? You look to be in a trance-like state, and you've developed some _real_ speed! All your punches 'snapped', just like you've been instructed; the second and third punch each connect with such _precision_!" Pointing to several frames of video after Joesiar was down, Xiùlán gloated, "See _this?_ Look! Fists together in front of your chest, a deep breath, then lowering your arms? That's _you_ breaking out of _your_ trance, Shānmǔ! That cannot be taught, by me, by anyone! It's something you have to be born with!"

Traynor blushed furiously and looked down at the table. To be the recipient of such praise from this woman meant more to her than she could say, particularly after all the slights and put-downs she'd endured from other people in the recent past.

Xiùlán studied her protégée closely. "You keep improving your skills and gaining strength like you have these past months, you'll _never_ be the one leaving a fight injured, of that I'm sure! You have a natural ability, Chǒng'ér! Zuò dé hǎo!" […, 宠儿！做得好！-_ Darling! Well done!_]

"Thanks, Xiùlán. Means a lot to hear you say that. Don't know what I'd have done today without your training," she said modestly.

Xiùlán's smile turned grim. "I expect it would have been _you_ being taught a lesson, just like Joesiar wanted." Shutting down her omni-tool, she continued, "Come on, let's shove off. Need to get back to our quarters…generate a list of complainants for the hearing."

* * *

><p>*** 1005/2187 ***

Yuán Xiùlán had been learning the intricacies of communication at the quantum level, a science still in its infancy among humans. The asari and turians were somewhat further along in manufacturing parts and building the equipment needed to transmit and receive messages in this nascent technology, but humankind was rapidly gaining ground after several significant breakthroughs. Installations of all new quantum entanglement communicators (QEC's) at the military headquarters of each Alliance colony were being completed as rapidly as possible; Alliance Navy flagships were being retrofitted as well, and new hulls would have QEC's as standard equipment. All the installed pairs would be located at a central facility within Arcturus Station; during an attack, a facility or fleet would signal Arcturus to transmit its information to every other fleet and colony. Unfortunately, destruction of the comm center at Arcturus would collapse the entire network.

Yuán's introduction to this technology would have been extremely difficult without the extra tutoring she received each evening from Samantha Traynor. As for Sam, she had three fingertips – one on her right hand, two on her left – healing from a procedure to implant sub-miniature cybernetic accelerometers; not knowing how fast she'd heal from the procedures, she had chosen to have only three fingers implanted. Once all her fingertips were so augmented, she'd no longer need to wear the special gloves otherwise needed to interact with Haptic interfaces. Xiùlán's comments about this had been generally positive, since Sam would no longer need to swap sparring gloves for 'Haptic' gloves in order to operate an interface.

Sam's workouts on the heavy bag had been curtailed to facilitate her healing, so time she would have spent punching the bag was being used in strength training to build muscle and mass, particularly in her arms, shoulders and legs. Traynor hadn't told Xiùlán, but she hoped to have her body on par with her lover's by the time they deployed to Mars. Having nightly intimate contact with Xiùlán's arms (particularly her forearms) and legs were a constant progress gauge for Sam.

Unknown to Xiùlán, Sam had a secret weapon…she'd hacked the base environmental computers in early May, granting her the ability to quickly modify the artificial gravity generators for any area she happened to be working in. In order to shorten the time it would take for her to develop her muscle mass to a point equal or in excess of Xiùlán's, Sam had been gradually increasing the gravity correction over time in whatever area she was using, from Earth normal to 1.85 to 1.95 that of Earth. Working out in a higher-G environment had been quite tiring until she got used to it, at which point she would increase the setting another tenth. She'd almost been caught by McKenzie once recently - the lieutenant had made an unannounced entry into the exercise area she shared with Xiùlán; fortunately, Sam had been able to quickly dial the gravity back to its normal setting.

She had just finished taking a relaxing shower after her late afternoon workout; dialing the artificial gravity up to 2.1 times that of Earth had left her totally drained. She'd have to get Xiùlán to massage her neck and shoulders once back in her quarters.

Traynor was towel-drying her newly short cropped hair when Heather Gonzales entered the room, accompanied by several of the other recruits Sam and Xiùlán had been helping with their harassment complaints; with a smiling "Hi, Traynor!", she selected a locker and began removing her sweaty exercise clothes. "Any more news on a hearing against Joesiar?"

Sam walked over to stand beside her, leaned against a bank of lockers and replied, "Hearing's scheduled nine days from today – mid-morning, fourteenth of October. Alliance is flying an adjudicator here from Vancouver. Don't know any more than that. You ready to help us get the miserable little húndàn dropped from the program?"

"Whatever you need us to do, Samantha," Gonzales enthusiastically replied as she looked around at her companions. "His removal from the program has taken too long…it'll be nice to get on with our training without being distracted by his constant insults, innuendo and abuse."

"Wait, _what?_" Sam answered in a pissed off tone as she unconsciously balled up her fists. "He actually abused you? Physically?"

Heather, her cheeks flushing pink as she thought back on the many times she'd been the subject of Joesiar's verbal assaults, responded quickly, "Oh, no…nothing like that. I didn't tell you about anything much after you helped me file my report in January…thought that was all I needed to do. It was all verbal, but it still cut just as bad as anything he could have done to me or the rest of us physically."

Sam placed a hand on Heather's shoulder. "Did you record any of it?"

"Much as I could. Do you think it will help?"

"Send me the files, Heather – copy Yuán when you do." Looking up at the rest of the women that had entered with Heather, she added, "Rest of you, if you have anything we haven't previously reported, please send it to us! Anything you have on the 'effing little pig will be a welcome addition to our arsenal."

"Will do, Sam…thanks." Heather removed her sweatpants and socks, then stood to pull her sweatshirt over her head. Turning towards the bank of full-length mirrors, she noticed their reflections as she started to remove her sports bra and gasped as what she was seeing dawned on her. "¡Maldita Sea! Traynor! What have you been doing to yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Sam queried as she studied their side-by-side reflections.

"Your…body! Your arms and legs, your abs! I don't remember you looking so…so…physically intimidating!" Heather made a show of looking at her own arms as a comparison to Sam's. "I didn't realize massive muscles were needed for being a computer and communications tech. Is there something else about you the rest of us should know?"

Sam sighed. Looking at her reflection…comparing herself to Heather, to the other women in the room, provided visual proof she now looked more like a bulked up marine instead of a navy computer tech. She brought her arms up together in front of her chest, hands at neck level. "Xiùlán's been training me in hand-to-hand combat…felt I needed a bit more muscle for what she was asking me to do." She moved to stand beside Heather as she dropped her arms to her side. Her arms _were_ larger, the muscles well defined; her forearms actually appeared to be larger than Heather's upper arms. "Truth be known, I haven't paid that much attention. Been seriously working out since February or so…she's teaching me so I don't have to worry about the likes of Joesiar and his minions."

"You hit Joesiar with the benefit of _those_ arms?" Heather asked in disbelief. "Traynor, you're lucky he survived; good thing for him as well, I guess!"

"I suppose so," Sam mused as she pulled on her duty uniform and gathered her supplies. "Miserable little troll wants to bring charges against me…claims I hit him and Hobe for no reason." Traynor grinned as she turned to leave. "He's in for one 'ellova surprise at the hearing."

* * *

><p>* …LATER THAT EVENING… *<p>

As far as Xiùlán was concerned, Sam had grown tremendously as a person, physically and mentally, since they'd met less then a year ago – there was now a toughness to her demeanor that had not been apparent when they first met and her self-confidence had increased hand-in-hand with her developing physique. Xiùlán noted with quiet pride how well defined the muscles in her legs and arms had become; indeed, her entire body was most impressively sculpted. Xiùlán had just finished working the kinks out of Sam's shoulders and neck when she innocently asked, "Have you looked at yourself in a full-length mirror lately, Sēn měi?"

"Just an occasional glance in the shower area…why do you ask?" Sam knew full-well the reason for Xiùlán's inquiry – she had taken a good long look at herself in comparison to Heather and some of the other women while talking to Gonzales after her shower earlier.

Xiùlán fixed Sam with an intent look…something that usually made her uncomfortable. "You're hiding something from me, Qíngrén," she said in an accusatory voice as she pulled Sam towards her and hugged her tightly. "Tell me what you've been doing," she added quietly as she dropped her hands with fingers spread to Sam's butt and pressed. "Jíshǐ shì jīròu zài zhèlǐ, qīn'ài de." [即使是肌肉在這裡，親愛的。- _Even muscle here, dear_.]

Sam returned her lover's hug, kissed her cheek and replied in a low whisper, "If it's computer controlled…," Sam nibbled on Xiùlán's earlobe, "…I can hack it, Luv. Gravity generators…," Sam nuzzled Xiùlán's neck at her jaw line, "…can be programmed past 1-G. I've been working out…," pulling back slightly to gaze into Xiùlán's eyes, "…at 1.8 to 1.9 G's these past two months." She finished in an innocent schoolgirl voice, "Does it show?"

Xiùlán's look of surprise gave way to understanding and approval. "I would never have thought of that, Sēn měi! I just accepted that gravity inside these structures was 'Earth normal'; never gave a second thought to us being on the moon. So, anyone else know about this?"

Sam giggled as she recalled nearly getting caught by the lieutenant. "Walked right in on me. Fortunately, I had the gravity field set to 'ramp up' from the door…gave me a chance to dial the room down to normal. She never said a word about it…I think she was more focused on updating our request for a hearing."

"…And?"

"Oh! Nearly forgot. Hearing's scheduled for the fourteenth of October, mid-morning. Adjudicator's being flown up from Earth. Hope he…or she, is a real hard-ass."

"That's only nine days away, Sammy…you think we're ready?"

Traynor pulled away from her friend, answering, "Ready as we'll _ever_ be, Luv. We've filed more than enough complaints, starting with yours back in January. We just have to make sure we stick to the facts…getting emotional will only work against us. Women in the Marines and Navy are always being criticized for being too emotional; personally, I think our willingness to wear our feelings on our sleeves makes us better humans." Sam paused, then added, "Gonzales and her friends are sending us a bunch of recordings; all are proof that Joesiar places a high value on being an equal opportunity misogynistic racist and xenophobe."

"Let's get back to you…let me see your arms." Xiùlán grabbed Sam's right forearm and gently stroked the skin from elbow to wrist. After exploring her left forearm in a similar fashion, she said, "You _have_ done well, qíngrén. I almost feel sorry for _anyone_ that attempts to lay a hand on you." Dark eyes looked at Sam intently. "Do you believe me when I say what happened to you in college would be an impossibility today?"

Sam gazed back into caring brown eyes. "There were five of them, luv…I don't…"

"…I _do_ know, Sam. You have a gift! Today, you could easily handle _twice_ their number, and I would not be surprised to learn that one or two had died of their injuries. You have learned your lessons well, _but_ there is still _much_ for you to learn. You need to learn how to permanently stop batarians, turians, krogan, asari and salarians, to name the major races. Of those, knowledge of batarian and turian physiology will be most useful. Some krogan and all asari possess biotic ability…chances of getting close enough to either one would be slight, but _any_ knowledge about them is better than none."

* * *

><p>– 217910/11, MONDAY AFTERNOON –

Samantha Traynor closed her eyes and massaged her temples between thumb and fingers of her left hand. She had been compiling evidence of Joesiar's unrelentingly hurtful put downs and abuse, all directed towards at least ten other students in her class. It appeared that virtually all of the abuse was directed at the female recruits – Joesiar was careful in choosing targets for his malicious brand of verbal cruelty; it appeared he, like most bullies, was a coward through and through, so wouldn't criticize any of the heavily built men taking this course out of fear for his own physical safety.

Sam returned her attention to the glowing screen of the monitor in front of her. The litany of insults Joesiar had levied at classmates was difficult to believe. Most centered on peoples' racial heritage; the relative darkness of each woman's skin compared to his own (pasty-faced white) increased the likelihood of being targeted. Bi-racial women (such as Heather Gonzales and herself) merited a special brand of insults. Joesiar seemed to particularly enjoy referring to Sam as a 'kuthi', [_female dog - bitch - in Punjabi and Hindi _] or a 'half-caste' [_generally pronounced by Joesiar as 'half-assed'_ ]. These were mild in comparison to some of the slurs he'd used to describe Gonzales and a few other women in the group. Joesiar apparently didn't care for _any_ woman being in the program, regardless of their racial makeup…a blonde might be referred to as a 'ditz'; he variously referred to others as 'WAP', 'maggots', 'hicks', 'snakes', 'Whiskey Tango', 'rubes', and other, coarser names.

She carefully arranged the audio tracks by time and date, alphabetized by last name, then copied the entire file to several data pads for the upcoming hearing. It was entirely possible they wouldn't need to be used, but Traynor and Xiùlán wanted to be sure they had covered everything.

* * *

><p>* ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING ROOM, 217910/14, 0930 *

"All rise," the guard snapped to attention as a door opened behind the long desk. "General RaeLee Park presiding."

Yuán Xiùlán was sitting three rows from the rear of the chamber. It appeared their reports, their complaints of Joesiar's actions since her training mission had apparently reached the right person. Xiùlán had done a background check on this general as soon as she learned her name; General Park was Vancouver BC born of Korean ancestry and seriously disliked ethnic and racially biased people, believing the Alliance had more than enough problems dealing with turian dislike and batarian hatred of humanity. She set several data pads on the table in front of her chair, looked around the room once, then sat down.

"You may be seated," she said in a quiet voice. "We are holding this hearing as a result of a number of disturbing allegations received during the past ten months regarding Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar; we need to determine if the serviceman was incorrectly chosen for training in this Tactical Stealth Infiltration program."

Park addressed Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar's advocate. "Staff Lieutenant Brandon Steele. SC2 Joesiar has been accused by a number of female recruits of making sexist comments, calling fellow recruits hateful, mean-spirited names, and of particular interest to this hearing, racism. You have read the particulars in the reports outlining the accusations. Do you, or SC2 Joesiar, have anything to say regarding these allegations?"

Lieutenant Steele stood and placed both hands on the table. "Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar denies all allegations, characterizing them as vicious lies, fabricated from a desire to see him removed from this program, and ultimately discharged from the Alliance Navy. Further, he wishes to bring charges of his own against Serviceman 3rd class Samantha Traynor, service number 8256-DH-7968, for initiating an unprovoked assault on his person and that of a companion on the early afternoon of oh-one October, resulting in severe facial injuries to Mister Joesiar and said companion."

"First things first, Lieutenant." She held a hand up as the lieutenant started to interrupt. "At this time, Lieutenant, motion to bring charges against Serviceman Traynor will be deferred until later." General Park motioned to the guard behind her, who stepped forward and requested Serviceman Yuán Xiùlán come forward; Xiùlán walked to the empty table on the right side of the hearing room and came to attention.

Park looked at Yuán and said, "For the record, Serviceman, please state your name, rank, and service number."

"Yuán Xiùlán, Serviceman First Class, 8257-PVG-09186, Ma'am."

"Have a seat, Yuán." The general selected one of the tablets in front of her and entered several commands on the interface. "This is a recording from a training exercise completed 277 days ago on live-fire course Charlie-seven, made by SC1 Yuán's hardsuit computer." Looking at Steel and Joesiar, she added, "I am sure you will recognize the voice of SC2 Joesiar."

Park played the recording from the time Xiùlán had jumped into the space previously occupied by the sniper VI until after Xiùlán had made the repair to Joesiar's suit and they were headed back to base. Drilling the Serviceman with her eyes, she addressed Lieutenant Steel, "Sounds to me SC2 Joesiar doesn't like Chinese people, or did I mistakenly hear him call SC1 Yuán a 'chink', use the derogatory term 'Chop stick' in place of her name, refer to her native tongue as 'chinee' _and_ the color of her skin, not once, but twice? And seriously, '_chinker bell'?_"

Lieutenant Steele promptly stood and replied, "SC2 Joesiar was joking in all the instances you heard, Ma'am."

General Park shifted her steely gaze to the lieutenant, who slowly sat down as she responded in a voice that could not only freeze water, but sublimate CO2, "If he was joking, Lieutenant, why did I _not_ hear any laughter from the complainant?"

"Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar is not a racist, General. He could not have remained in the Alliance Marines this long if he…"

"…didn't have an uncle in the upper echelons of Alliance Command?" General Park finished for him. "Major General Bradley Joesiar has been covering for his nephew ever since he enlisted, Lieutenant. I can cite several instances of SC2 Joesiar escaping punishment for his racism and misogyny. As for _this_ hearing, there are a number of recruits in attendance today that will testify to similarly insulting behavior towards them."

Lieutenant Steele leaned over to whisper something to Joesiar, then returned his attention to the general. "We request a ten-minute recess to confer, General."

"Denied, Lieutenant. We just got started…why interrupt the continuity of this proceeding, unless SC2 Joesiar is willing to concede and have me render judgment?" Hearing no objection from Steele, Park looked back over to Yuán as she asked a question of Steele. "Looking at Yuán's face, Lieutenant, do you detect any yellow in her skin tone?"

There was a short, uncomfortable pause as Steele studied Yuán's face; she, in turn, had turned to face him and coolly gazed back at him, causing him to drop his eyes in embarrassment before turning back to Park and answering, "Impossible to say, as she appears to be wearing makeup, Ma'am."

"Seriously, Lieutenant?" Park was outraged. "I'm the product of a bi-racial marriage myself, something to which your client seems to strongly object, if all the complaints I've read about him are even half true." Park took the unusual step of directly addressing Joesiar. "Serviceman, my facial features are not too dissimilar from Yuán's, and I am not wearing makeup of any kind. Would you say my skin tone appears yellow?"

Joesiar looked up from the table he'd been staring at for the past thirty minutes; Yuán was not surprised that his usually pasty complexion was partially colored by a large area of bluish-to-purple bruises, particularly on his mouth and chin and around both eyes, which were swollen. There was a large bandage affixed across the bridge of his nose, also bruised; Traynor had really nailed him! He fixed a look of utter contempt on the general as he grunted something through his teeth.

"The serviceman's jaw is wired closed as a result of the unprovoked assault I mentioned at the beginning of this hearing, Ma'am," Steel answered for Joesiar.

"Off the record, Lieutenant, the fact he is unable to speak will probably work in his favor today. Looks as if he may have insulted the wrong person," Park replied.

Steel glanced at Joesiar, then returned his attention to General Park. "As I said, we wish to file charges against SC2 Traynor."

"All in good time, Lieutenant. Now, as to skin color, I will answer my own question. I believe SC2 Yuán's skin color is no different than my own. I also see virtually no difference, with the exception of three or four people…," she looked at the people in attendance, "…who _may_ have their ancestry tied to parts of the African continent, the islands in the Pacific Ocean, maybe even Central or South America. I am unable to discern from _anyone's_ facial features their intelligence, capacity to learn or their ability to serve in the Systems Alliance."

Park returned her attention to Xiùlán. "SC1 Yuán. Of all the complaints the AG's office received on this matter, yours was the first one filed, and is the only one you have filed. Do you have anything else to add to this report?"

Yuán stood and said, "I believe the recording says it all, Ma'am. As for complaints, that was the only time I was paired up with Serviceman Joesiar."

"Thank you, Serviceman. You are excused," Park said with a kind smile, then motioned to the guard standing behind her, who requested Heather Gonzales to come forward.

Once sworn in, Heather took the chair vacated by Xiùlán. General Park played several excerpts of exchanges between Gonzales and Joesiar, then turned to Heather and asked, "Why would you record these conversations, Miss Gonzales?"

Heather looked straight at General Park and responded without hesitation, "Advice from a friend, Ma'am."

"Was Mister Joesiar aware the recordings were taking place?"

"No, Ma'am. There would have been no point in recording what was being said if he knew about it."

"Very well. I noticed that a number of these were not submitted through the AG's office prior to this hearing. Reasons?"

"I filed my first complaint in January, shortly after Serviceman Yuán and Serviceman Traynor filed their reports." Heather glanced at Steele, then returned her gaze to General Park. "Honestly, I truly believed Alliance brass would simply ignore my complaints. I continued to record the verbal abuse, thinking that someone, somewhere up the chain would eventually listen to me."

Park replied, "The Alliance can be a bit slow in these matters, Serviceman, but the AG's office takes _every_ allegation of this kind most seriously. Is there anything else you would like to add for the record?"

"Ma'am, I have been a member of the Alliance Navy for just over a year, encountered a lot of people from all over the world plus colonies. My right to belong in the Navy was never questioned, my performance capabilities as a woman, my parentage? Never an issue with anyone until I came to this base. I believe Serviceman Joesiar's education to be the product of late nineteenth and early twentieth century thinking, Ma'am, and totally out of place within this organization."

"Thank you, Miss Gonzales. You are excused."

General Park had the guard call the next complainant…

* * *

><p>* 1330 *<p>

After a break for lunch, General RaeLee Park returned to her desk, spent a few moments shuffling through the datapads in front of her before finding and extracting the one she needed. Without bothering to talk to the guard, she looked into the group of people sitting before her and said, "Serviceman Second Class Samantha Traynor, please come forward."

Sam jumped when her name was called, then looked at Xiùlán, who simply smiled and nodded; Traynor hadn't expected to be called today, as there were other women that came ahead of her alphabetically. She got up and walked to the table where Xiùlán and Heather had given their testimony, stood by the empty chair and came to attention.

Park said, "For the record, Serviceman, please state your name, rank, and service number."

"Traynor, Samantha, Serviceman Second Class, 8256-DH-7968, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Miss Traynor. Have a seat." Park activated her data pad and studied the information slowly scrolling up the screen. "It appears you have a singular aptitude for electronic intrusion, including the ability to hack secure databases without leaving a trace. Did you use this ability on the afternoon of one October?"

"I did, Ma'am," Sam replied quietly.

"To what purpose, Miss Traynor?" Park wanted to know.

"In order to provide visual proof, along with my omni-tool recording, of the event that transpired on that afternoon," Traynor responded.

"This event to which you refer…it is the reason I'm sitting here today, is it not?"

"Yes Ma'am, it is," Traynor answered.

"Before we view the video from the security system you hacked," Park replied, "can you explain why you have been training in the art of Jing Quan Dao?"

"I was physically assaulted once during my freshman year in college and lacked the knowledge needed to defend myself," Traynor answered. "Serviceman Yuán offered to train me in hand-to-hand combat in exchange for my instructing her in computer server intrusion and quantum communications, subjects that were even difficult for me to master."

Park looked at her data pad intently for a moment before observing, "Your record shows you have a BSc in Physics, specializing in Astrophysics; you also studied Math and Computer Science, and took a minor in applied Mathematics and Statistics with an emphasis on analysis." Park looked up from the readouts and fixed Traynor with a steely gaze. "Miss Traynor, you graduated from Oxford University near the top of your class. With that kind of background, I would be surprised if you couldn't fly from here to Charon and back using nothing but dead reckoning." Park looked for and found the data pad with Yuán's information from the morning session. "It would appear that Miss Yuán began receiving higher scores in the applied sciences around March of this year. Is that when you began her tutoring?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"…and that would also be when you started your physical training, correct?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"I have seen this video footage, Miss Traynor; Yuán's personnel record from her time here shows that no one wishes to meet her on the mat…I believe the expression is 'toe-to-toe'? In the eight to nine months she has been training you, it appears she has transformed you into an image of herself. I still have a difficult time believing you have learned to be so…I don't know…," she waved a hand in the air, "…brutally efficient." Park turned to the guard and told him to run the video.

As the video began, Lieutenant Steele's mouth dropped open for a moment before he stood and loudly said, "Objection! We were not made aware a record of this incident existed. Serviceman Joesiar is the injured party here…I mean, look at his face!"

"Your objection is duly noted, Lieutenant, and it is overruled! Sit down, watch and learn," Park replied.

With an air of resignation, Lieutenant Steele retook his seat and leaned back, whispering to Joesiar as he did so. They both watched and listened as the confrontation between Joesiar and Traynor unfolded, beginning with Traynor's apology to Joesiar, his reply concerning _'his'_ air, his instructions for Hobe to grab her so he could _'teach d__is bitch a lesson in manners!'_ and Hobe's misguided attempt to grab Traynor's breasts, all viewed from over Joesiar's shoulder; the vantage point then shifted to a view from over Traynor's shoulder, showing her viciously dropping Hobe to the floor, Joesiar's subsequent attempt to grapple with her, the impact of her boot in his chest and the triple snap-punch that knocked him down.

General Park had the guard 'step' through the footage a frame at a time so everyone could see her individual punches land on Joesiar's face – her arms were a blur of motion within each frame of video; it appeared the third punch she landed was probably superfluous, as Joesiar appeared to be unconscious after being hit by Traynor's second punch.

There was quiet murmuring among the women sitting around Xiùlán and Heather, which quickly disappeared with a look from General Park. "Miss Traynor, I have never seen two people taken down in such a precise manner. Your instructor should be proud of you."

Park shifted her attention to Steele and Joesiar. "So Lieutenant, in light of this audio and video evidence, does Serviceman Joesiar still wish to bring charges against Serviceman Traynor?"

Steele leaned over to whisper something to Joesiar; returning his attention to General Park, he said, "We request a fifteen-minute recess to confer, General."

"Take twenty, Lieutenant. Just make sure you're ready for the hammer to drop when we reconvene" The guard said, "All rise," as General Park rose from her chair, picked up her data pads and left by the door behind her.

Traynor rose from her table and turned to look for Xiùlán. As she did, Joesiar made a point of walking up to her and muttering through his wired shut jaws, "Ya 'uckin' 'rown-skin 'itch! Ya jus' cos' 'e uh c'reer in da 'liance." [_You just cost me a career in the Alliance_]

Sam cocked her head and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, much as she had on the day she'd busted his chops. "No Joesiar, the only person to blame for all this is you." Addressing Lieutenant Steele, she said in a voice literally dripping with venom, "Lieutenant, I suggest you get this goddamned mutherfucker the 'ell out of my face before I hit 'im again!…might even get lucky this time…rid the gene pool of his stupidity!"

To his credit, Steele immediately grabbed Joesiar's arm without a word and steered him away from Traynor and Yuán, guiding him out a side door away from the crowd of women gradually surrounding Sam and Xiùlán.

Heather grabbed Sam in a hug and kissed her cheek. "Damn, Traynor. I didn't realize you'd put those bastards down so convincingly! That was totally amazing." The rest of the women voiced their agreement, patting her back and shoulders as they crowded around her.

Traynor gently returned the hug. "Glad you approve. We haven't won yet, but things do look promising."

Releasing Heather, she looked around and located Xiùlán. "What do you think? Next shuttle for Earth?"

"Bùyào zhǐwàng nǐ de xiǎo jī zhídào tāmen fūhuà," she said softly, as if afraid she'd jinx the proceedings by speculating prematurely. "Sorry, Sam - means _'do not count your chickens until they hatch_'. [不要指望你的小雞直到他們孵化] I want to believe we've got things going our way, but a slick lawyer like Steele? Anything's possible." Xiùlán shrugged her shoulders. "We'll see how General Park feels when she returns. But Sammy," Xiùlán took both her hands in her own, "whatever happens, you did great. I am so very proud of you!"

* * *

><p>* 1430 *<p>

"Please be seated." General Park waited while everyone sat down and the room quieted before clearing her throat. She looked at Joesiar and Lieutenant Steele as she said, "Serviceman Second Class Joesiar, stand and come to attention." Joesiar looked at Steele nervously as he obeyed the general.

"In all my years in the Alliance Marines, I have never met an individual, from either branch, that has done more to tarnish the reputations of every man _and_ woman that serves the Systems Alliance with honor and integrity." General Park continued with, "You sir, are a disgrace to the uniform, and honestly, I cannot imagine how in the name of all that's good and holy you managed to get through basic training without someone murdering you in your sleep."

Lieutenant Steele shoved his chair back in order to stand next to Joesiar. He tentatively raised a hand to interrupt the general, only to receive a stern look as she ignored his motion and continued speaking.

"The Systems Alliance has enough problems in our contacts with batarians and turians without having to deal with xenophobes within our midst. I can not imagine what would happen to our fragile peace with these two races if a member of either one were to personally encounter your narrow-minded view of the galaxy. Before I announce my decision, do you have anything to say to me that can in any way excuse your extremely offensive behavior during your time here? In light of your facial injuries, I will allow Lieutenant Steele to answer for you."

Steele glanced at Joesiar before responding. "The serviceman stands by his earlier assertion that he is in no way racist or misogynistic; he believes all of his attempts at humor have been misconstrued as insults or harassment. Further, he believes the security video as presented proves he was an innocent victim of an unprovoked physical attack by Serviceman Traynor, thus feels _he_ is the aggrieved party, and wishes at this time to file an assault charge against Serviceman Traynor."

Traynor literally couldn't believe her ears; neither could the women seated with her, if their unhappy murmuring was any indication. Heather and Xiùlán, seated on either side of her, each gave Traynor a hand to hold as they waited for General Park to respond.

The general closed her eyes for a few moments as she massaged her temples between the fingertips of each hand; she opened her eyes and used them to skewer the Lieutenant. "You are sadly mistaken, Lieutenant, if you think for one nanosecond I would entertain the possibility of charging Miss Traynor with assault. She defended herself from not one, but two attackers, both men, at least outwardly. That Mr. Joesiar felt he was going to _'teach'_ Miss Traynor a lesson while he had a friend hold her?…and just what sort of lesson did you intend to teach Miss Traynor, Serviceman?"

Steele started to speak, only to be cut off by Park. "Stow it, Lieutenant! Not another word. I have made my decision, and it is irrevocable…no appeal, do you understand me?"

Steele opened his mouth, closed it, then replied with only thinly veiled contempt, "Yes, Ma'am."

"In the matter of Serviceman First Class Yuán Xiùlán, Serviceman Second Class Heather Gonzales, Serviceman Third Class Samantha Traynor, et al, complainants, against Serviceman Second Class Joesiar, I find the reported complaints to be verifiable, backed up by certified recordings, both audio and video; I therefore find the person accused in all these complaints to be guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the Systems Alliance." Park looked at Joesiar as he stood behind the table with Lieutenant Steele. "Mister Joesiar, your actions have earned you a less than honorable discharge from your position in the Systems Alliance. You are ordered to turn over any and all property and equipment issued to you by the Systems Alliance, including your omni-tool, data pads and uniforms. Upon receipt of said property, you will be issued credits in the amount owed to you for enlistment through the end of the current year. If you wish to remain on base until the 31st of this month, you will be relocated to civilian guest quarters outside of normal base operations. On or before the end of this month you will be provided shuttle transportation to Alliance HQ Vancouver; from there you will be escorted off base. Do you have any questions?"

Joesiar mumbled something to Lieutenant Steele, who answered for him. "Mister Joesiar wants the general to be expecting a call from Major General Bradley Joesiar."

"Duly noted, Lieutenant. If there's nothing else…?" Park gathered up her data pads; as the guard came to attention and shouted "All rise!" the general stood and left the hearing room through the door behind her desk.

Xiùlán, Heather and Sam hugged one another as the thoroughly defeated Joesiar and Steele slunk towards the side door like a pair of whipped dogs, tails between their legs.

Everyone was talking all at once about this turn of events when first Traynor's, then Xiùlán's, then Heather's omni-tools activated, showing incoming messages. Traynor opened hers first, read the message and looked at her two companions. "It's from the general…General Park. She wants to meet with me in her quarters at 1930."

Heather looked at her message; it was the same invitation, as was the message on Xiùlán's omni-tool. "Appears to be genuine. Should we be worried?"

By now, Traynor could find a conspiracy anywhere she looked. "I doubt the general's personal messaging system has been hacked, but let me do some digging, see what I can uncover."

Heather had been ready to accept the invitation at face value. "Why do either of you think it's anything but a simple request to meet with General Park?"

Xiùlán replied, "Because Park was here only long enough to hear our complaints and render an opinion. She most certainly would have shuttled back to BC…why stay here overnight?"

"Exactly! She's on a tight schedule," Traynor agreed with Xiùlán. "The shuttle would have waited for her if her business here wasn't going to take more than a day. Like I said, let me do some digging. Shouldn't take long for me to learn if the general has left for BC. I'll message both of you later. In the meantime, check with your friends, Heather…see if any of them received this exact same message. I'm smelling a rat."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Those of you that have been following my main story _(Transformation)_ know that Joesiar and Xiùlán tangled once again near the end of chapter forty. I wouldn't expect Joesiar to receive any pity from Traynor once the Normandy makes port at the Citadel Naval Yard in Chapter forty-one (currently being researched and written). I've been having fun going back and forth in time. Thanks to all for reading. Fav, follow or review. (Oh yes, happy holidays! Have a wonderful New Year!)_


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